


Backstage Pass

by BrownFoxx



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: 1980s, Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2020-09-28 02:56:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 26,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20418758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownFoxx/pseuds/BrownFoxx
Summary: After high school Carol becomes a rock star and Daryl's in the band!  Will love blossom backstage?  80s era Caryl romance!





	1. Competition

It was 1984 and there was nothing 17 year old Carol Ford loved more than music. She had always been told by her parents that she had a beautiful voice ever since she was a kid but she rarely sang anywhere other than church on occasion because she was a little shy about it. By the time she was in the 12th grade however she'd gotten over her shyness and joined the school chorus, and everyone who so much as heard her hum a tune complimented her on her impressive vocal skill. 

Even Carol's twin brother Abraham, (who was older than her by four minutes and had been a MAJOR pain in the ass ever since they were 'womb-mates') had to admit that she sounded pretty damned good whenever he overheard her singing around the house. In fact, whenever she sang along with Donna Summer, Madonna, Blondie, Pat Benatar or Cyndi Lauper on the radio in his pickup truck on their way to Woodbury Senior High School most mornings, he NEVER complained (which was quite impressive because Abraham usually complained about everything...) 

Carol frequently rode with Abe even though she had her own car; their dad had given her the family's old 1972 Volkswagen beetle bug (aka the "punchbuggy") when she got her driver's license that past summer but unfortunately the damned thing needed a hell of a lot more work than it was worth, and since it broke down half the time she often had to depend on her brother for rides to school, and to Steaks & Shakes, the 1950's era themed diner off the interstate where she waitressed part time to save money for college. Abe was on the football team at Woodbury, and either had practice or games most afternoons and occasionally on the weekends so she sometimes had to ride the bus when her own wheels were out of order which was most of the time.

One day at lunch Carol's friend Lori encouraged her to sign up to sing in their school's upcoming talent show. Lori had always been impressed with Carol's singing talent and as soon as she saw the poster advertising the contest she immediately thought of her friend. Unfortunately, singing in front of the entire school was out of the question in Carol's opinion. 

"No Lori! I don't think I sound that good!"

"On the contrary, you do." Michonne interjected before Lori could reply. 

"I do not Michonne! And what if I freeze up and make a fool of myself up on stage?"

"You won't freeze up," Lori assured her between bites of pizza. "We'll all be in the audience cheering for you."

"She's right, you'll do fine," Andrea added into the conversation from where she sat on her boyfriend Shane's lap. 

"You'll do better than fine." Abe's girlfriend Sasha then added. "Carol you sound better than half the people on the radio!"

"She's right!" both Glenn and Maggie suddenly added in unison before resuming taking turns feeding each other french fries between kisses. They'd been so engrossed in each other at the end of the table during the entire lunch period that their friends had almost forgotten that they were there and everyone rolled their eyes. Those two were so in love it was sickening at times!

"Well Carol old girl look at the bright side," Shane then added, "even if you come in last place you can use the prize money to finally get something on that raggedy piece of shit you call a car fixed," he snorted, causing Rick to throw a balled up napkin at him and the ither to burst into laughter. Carol's old raggedy car was frequently the butt of Shane's jokes.

"Watch it Walsh," Abe snapped, then chuckled because he knew it was true.

"Oh shut up Shane," Carol whined with a smirk, giving him the finger even though she knew he was right. "Just how much are the prizes anyway?" she asked.

"Third place gets fifty bucks, second place runner up gets $100 and first place wins a cool $500 dollars," Rick said with a whistle as he plopped down between Lori and Michonne with his lunch tray. He liked both girls equally and they both wanted him bad but he just couldnt decide which one he wanted to date so he flirted constantly with both without comitting to either of them so the three of them had had that whole 'Archie and Betty vs. Veronica' love triangle/rivalry going on since the beginning of the school year.

"Five hundred dollars!" Abe exclaimed. "That's a lot of bread."

Carol's jaw dropped. Five hundred bucks was a lot of bread... (especially for a teenager to get their hands on in 1984) and she knew that if she won first place she could definitely get all of the work she needed done on her car and would probably have some dough leftover. So, she decided to try out for the contest. She already had a song in mind that she wanted to sing, so the only thing to do at that point was to find someone to play the music for her.

She didnt have to look very far thankfully; a guy in her music class named Daryl Dixon was the best bass guitar player she had ever heard. He'd formed a country rock band that previous summer that he'd named Cherokee that was beginning to gain a little notoriety at a few teen clubs in the area.

Daryl was from a trailer park in the backwoods of Senoia, a rural community on the outskirts of town, and had a bit of a reputation at Woodbury High of being a 'bad ass' because he'd occasionally gotten suspended for fighting in the past, didnt fit into any of the established 'cool crowds', smoked cigarettes, swore like a sailor on the rare occasions anyone heard him speak, and usually rode his older brother's motorcycle to school everyday. Carol always thought he was nice however; he had the prettiest, icy blue eyes she'd ever seen and he always seemed deep in thought as he sat beside her in music class, and after telling him one day just how talented she thought he was at bass guitar, she started catching him watching her on a lot and he always nodded hi to her shyly whenever they passed in the halls. 

When Carol approached Daryl later that day after class and asked if he'd be interested in playing guitar for her for the upcoming talent show in exchange for half of the prize money if they won, he shocked her by immediately saying he'd do it. She thanked him profusely and told him how badly she needed the money for her car issues and he blushed red as a beet when she then hugged him and pecked his cheek. "Its nothin'," he murmured, staring at her intently. "Sides... I need the practice." 

Starting that very day and every afternoon thereafter that they both had off from their respective jobs (Daryl worked part time some evenings at his Uncle Axel's car wash,) they did just that- practiced. Daryl played and Carol sang, sometimes late into the night, and Daryl always drove her home on his brother Merle's Harley. 

What Carol didnt know was that Daryl Dixon had had a serious crush on her since sophomore year. It only got worse whenever he heard her sing in music class and his feelings for her hit an all time high while she practiced for the talent show with him and occasionally his band members in his brother Merle's garage after school. When Carol sang, Daryl's blood ran hot and his heart skipped more than a few beats. In fact it felt like his heart was racing whenever he looked at her and he liked the feeling. He'd had a couple of girlfriends in the past but no one had ever turned him on like Carol did; her sweet, sultry voice made him want her like a man was supposed to want a woman. They ended up becoming close friends and his heart yearned for her more and more but he knew he couldn't ever tell her how he really felt; a girl like her probably wouldnt give a guy like him the time of day.

On the day of the talent show, Carol let her classmate Jessie (who was enrolled in the cosmetology program at their school) do her makeup and style her long, red hair into a wild 'hair band' style (that her mother insisted resembled a "rats nest") and had dressed up just like her idol, Fleetwood Mac's lead singer Stevie Nicks for the performance, in bellbottom jeans, an old pair of platform boots she'd found at a second hand store in town, a sexy midriff tube top, a suede fringed vest, big hoop earrings and dozens of bangle bracelets.

Daryl thought she looked so hot he couldnt take his eyes off of her and they ended up winning the top prize for their impressive cover performance of Fleetwood Mac's hit 'Dreams', $500! Daryl then surprised Carol after the show when they went to celebrate when he refused his share of the prize money, insisting that she use it all for her car, and to buy herself "something real nice."

It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her and she used the bulk of the money to get a tune up, new filters, new fan belts, new brakes, the radiator flushed, two new front tires, new spark plugs and an oil change and once she was back on the road she felt eternally grateful to Daryl. She'd also grown quite fond of him and secretly hoped he'd ask her out. It seemed like he might with the way he'd started staring at her lately, even more so than before she'd noticed, but he had yet to say anything.

After winning the highly competitive school talent show, Carol gained a new level of popularity seemingly overnight. She and the membets of Daryl's band got asked by the prom committee to perform at the senior prom, she was invited by her music teacher to record a rendition of the national anthem to be played each morning over the school intercom, and later she was even asked to sing at graduation by the principal, Mr. Dale Horvath. 

In addition Carol started getting invited to parties by members of the more popular crowd at her school, and before she knew it she got asked out by Ed Peletier, the captain of both the football team and wrestling squad. 

Ed hadn't paid Carol much attention since transferring to Woodbury from his previous private boarding school in Atlanta (where he'd been expelled for bullying and for getting caught with alcohol and drugs in his dorm room) but after hearing her sing at the talent show and seeing how many other guys in the popular crowd he was now a member of checking her out, he was suddenly interested in claiming her for himself. It didnt hurt that Carol was really pretty with a knockout figure and Ed was surprised he hadn't taken notice of her before. He was no slouch himself; he was tall, well built, and quite handsome with his dark hair and striking grey eyes and since his parents had a shitload of money lots of girls wanted to date him, but he was fixated on Carol, and Ed was not the type of guy to give up easily to get something he wanted. She was impressed that he was interested and since Daryl hadn't asked her out yet she agreed to go out with him...


	2. Out of Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol's friends don't like Ed...

The remaining months of the school year flew by and before Carol knew it she and Abraham and all of their friends were about to graduate from Woodbury High. They all had different plans for their lives; Abe wanted to go to collegeand had always wanted to be an army Drill Sargeant as well so he was going to join the reserves at the end of the summer to help pay for his college education. Lori had plans to attend the practical nursing program at Senoia Community College and she also had her heart set on getting engaged to Rick before long since they'd finally started dating exclusively and had since gotten pretty serious. Both Rick and Shane were chosen to be cadets with the King County Sheriff's Department's Police Academy immediately after graduation, and Sasha wanted to be a fire fighter and had enrolled to begin an EMT/Paramedic trainee program at the community college.

Best friends Michonne and Andrea both got accepted into the University of Georgia at Savannah with plans to enter their Law School after completing their undergrad requirements; while the lovebirds Glenn and Maggie were both going to attend the same Veterinarian school in the fall, but in the meantime Glenn still loved his job delivering pizzas and had no plans to quit anytime soon; while Maggie would be helping out at her father Hershel's dairy farm on the weekends.

Carol knew she wanted to incorporate music into her future so she decided to become a music teacher, and had applied at Atlanta's Fine Arts College. She still loved singing with Daryl's band just for fun and had even won a few more contests with them at a few clubs around town but that all came to a screeching halt once she got serious with Ed. 

The band had serious potential for a record deal and both Daryl and the band's drummer T-Dog had literally begged Carol to officially join them and she told them she'd think about it but when she mentioned the idea to Ed he had fifty reason for why she shouldn't. According to him it was a 'stupid idea' and would be a waste of her talent and time. He'd begun regularly taking her out on expensive dates and was consuming most of her free time as it was and it was obvious that he was jealous of all the time she 'wasted' practicing singing with that 'loser' Daryl Dixon and the other 'lowlifes' in his band. 

Ed had 'big plans' for his future and he wanted Carol in his life. She was the perfect girlfriend in his opinion; she was really pretty and most importantly ALWAYS did whatever he wanted. He was going to attend Georgia Tech for computer engineering in the fall so that he could someday take over his dad's million dollar corporation. Despite his young age he was infatuated with the idea of getting married and starting a family as soon as possible. Money was no object and he liked the idea of having a wife at home at his beck and call to cook for him andclean up after him and to be available for hot sex anytime he wanted it. He was really serious about Carol being his and in the past couple of months got his point across by spending money on gifts for her and taking her out on lots of expensive dates. They spent so much time together that all of her friends soon started teasing her about it terribly.

"Carol, we never see you anymore," Lori whined at graduation rehearsal. "You're always with Ed!"

Abe shook his head. "Yeah sis, seems like I only see you in passing these days... and we live in the same house! Ed picks you up for school every morning, then brings you home super late every night... you might as well quit the diner. You've already cut back most your work hours to go out with the guy." 

"What do you expect Abe? He's my boyfriend! You don't hear me complaining about you and Sasha hanging out a the time without me!" Carol laughed.

"That's different... we all still see and hang out with both Abe and Sasha as a group on occasion," Andrea interjected. "You're totally incognito, Carol."

"Exactly," Michonne said with a suspicious scowl. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but there was just something about Ed that she didnt like... at all. He seemed to 'control' Carol and whenever he was around she wasn't quite like herself; she seemed a lot quieter and... smaller somehow, and Michonne didn't like it one bit. And she didn't like the way he talked to her sometimes either... and she'd seen him grab her arm a little too roughly for her liking, more than once. She was best friends with Andrea but she'd always been very close to Carol too and really missed her friend and was a little worried about her. "It's almost like he's keeping you away from us on purpose. You're only hanging out with us today because Ed's home sick," she then added.

"Home sick?" Shane chuckled. "More like hungover, you mean! Ed got totally wasted last night at the bonfire. You had to be embarrassed when he started yelling at everyone then threw up all over himself, Carol," he laughed.

"Shut up, Shane," Carol snapped in defense of her boyfriend. "Just about everyone there had a few beers and the other guys got a little rowdy too so why are you singling out Ed?" She was so over Shane's wisecracks... even though she knew that he was right as usual. Everyone at school knew that most of the jocks drank drank entirely too much, Ed in particular, but no one dared snitch on him or confront him about it because it had been discovered over time that he had a REALLY bad temper. Not only was he was the star of the football team and one of the most 'popular' guys at school, but he was also a bully and a jerk of epic proportion to anyone outside his social circle; not to mention he was so big and threatening looking that no one dared cross the guy. 

"I'm singling him out because he made a complete fool of himself," Shane laughed.

"Leave him alone," Carol pouted. "And we spend so much time together because were deeply in love! Look, it's not my fault that he finds me irresistible," she bragged in a playful, flirty tone in an attempt to lighten the mood. "He tells me all the time that he likes having me all to himself," she then added with a light laugh. 

"You gotta be careful when guys say start saying stuff like that Carol," Andrea replied with a serious expression. "Sometimes that's just the beginning. Certain types of guys like to isolate their girlfriends like that so they can control them and it can easily become an abusive situation. I never told you this but it happened to my sister Amy last year. Thats why she transferred to private school to make a new start. She started dating a guy from Macon. He was a little older so our folks didnt want her to go out with him at first but she insisted that they meet him. Finally they relented because he seemed like such a nice boy. But it was all an act... he had us all fooled; come to find out he wasn't so nice after all. He'd slapped her around... more than once. Thankfully our parents figured out what was going on and forced her to end the relationship and it was for the best. They had to get a restraining order and press charges against him for hitting her and everything."

Carol looked stricken. "That poor girl," she whispered. She then played it off after a few moments. "Look guys," she sighed. "Its not like that with us. Ed thinks I'm beautiful and he loves me... he even told me that he wants us to get married soon. Just look at this promise ring he bought me!" she insisted.

Lori nearly swooned over the beautiful and obviously expensive diamond on Carol's ring finger but neither Michonne nor Andrea were impressed. Nor were they impressed with the matching necklace and bracelet set he'd given her either... (and they definitely wouldn't have liked with the matching bruises he'd given her that were hidden under her clothes that she hadnt dared show them or anyone else..)


	3. After The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl witnesses Ed's cruelty and does something about it!

Daryl should've been in a happy mood; it was the night of his senior prom, he'd be graduating from high school in a couple of days and he already had a good job lined up for after graduation, and in addition to all that he'd even secured a few paying gigs at a couple of clubs in Atlanta for his band. He should've been on cloud nine but instead he felt very sad.

He knew that once the school year came to an end, he'd probably never see Carol again. He missed her already; seeing her and hearing her sing everyday after school while they'd practiced for the talent show had become the highlight of his days (and had fueled more than a few steamy dreams about her at night) but ever since she'd started dating Ed, he'd seen less and less of her. Daryl hadn't ever been one to openly display his emotions, but the deep sadness he felt about losing his friendship with her was obvious.

The idea of never having to go back to Woodbury High again alone should've been enough to make him want to celebrate but the more he thought about leaving school the more depressed he felt inside. His big brother Merle could easily tell that something was really bothering him and initially thought he had his panties in a bunch simply because he didnt have a date for the prom. In typical Merle fashion he half jokingly offered to call up one of his 'easier broads' to 'loan' out to him for the evening so that he'd at least "get laid" on prom night, but Daryl flat out refused. Joking or not, possibly catching an STD from one of Merle's slutty girlfriends was the very last thing on Daryl's to-do list. Besides, Carol was the only girl he would have wanted to take to the prom anyway, but unfortunately she already had a date, her boyfriend, Ed 'the Douchebag' Peltier. Daryl was kicking himself for not at least taking a shot at asking her out, and now it was too late; he'd never get the chance again; everyone around school knew that Carol and Ed had gotten really serious in the past few months.

Daryl was crushed over their relationship. Ed didn't deserve Carol. She was sweet and talented and had a heart of pure gold. It didn't matter that Ed was 'popular', wore designer clothes and drove a BMW; he was loud, rude and obnoxious; the true definition of a jerk, and Daryl couldn't comprehend how Carol could stand being around him for longer than a few minutes at a time. Buying her crap and taking her out to expensive restaurants just couldn't have been worth it.

\-----

Daryl figured that the only highlight of that evening would be the brief time they'd be onstage performing at the dance together; Carol had agreed to sing a couple of songs with his band at prom, but later informed him and the guys that although she really wished she could officially join the group, she'd thought about their offer and talked it over with her boyfriend but with their relationship getting so serious so fast (Ed was already talking marriage,) increasing hours at her job and with her plans to start college in the Fall, she knew that she just wouldn't have the time available to commit to the band like she'd need to for all of the practices and performances that she'd be expected to participate in, especially as they got more popular which was inevitable because they were all so talented.

Daryl had been devastated to hear the words 'marriage' and 'Ed' come out of her mouth in the same conversation but he played it off. He changed the subject by playing her some of the original music he'd composed lately and let her read some lyrics of a few new love songs he'd written and she nearly swooned over how romantic the songs were but was clueless that he'd written every word for her about the sincere love he'd hidden for her deep in his heart.  
\-----  
Later that night...

Woodbury High's senior prom was a major affair and the prom committee had booked the ultra ritzy Alexandria Hotel in downtown Atlanta as the venue. The mirrored grand ballroom was decorated with dozens of white, gold and silver Class of '84 streamers and hundreds of matching balloons and there were beautiful bouquets of white roses at every table in the dining hall for their catered dinner and dessert.

Everyone there looked so different and grown up in their formal attire with their dates and Daryl thought that Carol looked like a dream with her hair done up and dressed in her short, pink taffeta prom dress and tall heels that showed off her shapely legs and he couldnt take his eyes off of her all night, particularly while they were on stage together. She sounded particularly awesome that night and Daryl's heart yearned for her with every note she sang.

After the band finished their last song and had packed their equipment into T-Dog's van the party was still going strong but Daryl knew he needed to get the hell out of there before much longer. The moment they were done performing Ed had immediately swooped in and snatched Carol away from them so he didn't even get to say goodbye to her. Ed was pawing all over her on the dancefloor before long and he didn't think he could bear to witness their lovey dovey antics for much longer. After awhile he didn't see them in the crowd anymore anyway and he knew it was for the best if he simply got lost.

Daryl's band mate T-Dog had brought a date with him to prom as well as had the other guys so Daryl knew he could slip out without being missed. He darted out an exit door down a deserted back hallway in the hotel and found himself outside in a darkened alley near the garage. He leaned against the wall with a sad sigh and pulled out a cigarette but before he could light up he overheard some guy shouting at someone at the opposite end of the alley near the dumpsters. He then heard what sounded like a woman sobbing so he immediately headed toward them and recognized the voices right away. It was that prick Ed Peletier screaming at the top of his lungs... at Carol!

"I know what I saw Carol," Ed raged, and it was obvious that he was drunk and possibly high on drugs. "You were making eyes at that goddamned redneck Daryl Dixon again! I know you like him! And that loser couldn't keep his eyes off you the whole damn time you were up on stage! I knew something was going on with you two! I knew I shouldn't have let you sing with him tonight!"

"But Ed," she sobbed.

"Shut up you ungrateful bitch! I'm not finished talking!" he sneered, raising his hand threateningly as if to backhand slap her. She immediately cowered and began sobbing softly as he went on. "Then on top of everything else you blatantly disobeyed me with that cheap get up you're wearing. You think you're really slick, don't you? Thought I wasnt gonna notice? I know I told you to wear the long pink dress I picked out for you tonight, but no... you just had to get up there in your little slutty mini skirt to make a fool out of me in front of all of my friends on purpose! Cant take you anywhere!"

"Ed, my mother bought me this dress!" she whimpered tearfully. "She insisted that I wear it!

"I said shut up! Is she the one who has to be seen out in public with you wearing it? No. And she apparently she has no class. You're mine, Carol. MINE! And I'm the only man that you should want looking at your body! But no! You just gave the whole damn school a free peep show. I can't trust you for one minute can I? Can I?" he repeated, shaking her roughly.

"You know you can trust me Ed!" Carol cried. "But... well... maybe we ought to just end things since I cant seem to make you happy."

"You'd make me happy if you'd simply do as I ask! I spent two hundred bucks on that dress!"

"I'll return the dress first thing tomorrow morning and give you your money back, Ed. Like I said I think we should break up. I love you but its for the best."

"You can't dump me bitch because I'm dumping you! I knew I shouldn't have started dating a low class slut like you in the first place. You're not even in my league. All the gifts and fancy dates can't change what you are... a cheap slut from the cheap side of town! I don't know how I fell for you. How could I even think about marrying you when you're the school tramp? I bet you screwed that redneck and all his band friends, didn't you? You fucked them all didnt you, Carol? Didn't you?" he shouted, squeezing her upper arms hard enough to bruise while shaking her roughly again.

Daryl had seen and heard more than enough. A powerful rage had brewed up in him that he'd never felt before and he suddenly tackled Ed into the dumpster then knocked him to the ground before punching and stomping him to a bloody pulp. Carol began shouting for help and the next thing Daryl knew a crowd had formed around them, cheering him on as he kicked Ed's ass and before he knew it he was being pulled off of Ed by two hotel security guards.


	4. Graduation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl gets a surprise...

Graduation day was bittersweet for Carol. Both she and Abraham graduated with honors and their parents were very proud of their accomplishments and she was happy to embark on the next phase of her life but she was still quite shook up over her break up with Ed. She didnt ever want to see him again so it was definitely for the best and she was glad their brief yet tumultuous relationship was over but it was still a very emotional ordeal to sit a few rows over from him during the ceremony but she had to grin and bear it. 

Their steamy teenaged love affair turned nightmare hadn't started that way; Ed could be a bit obnoxious at times but in the beginning Carol was able to overlook his behavior because he hadn't ever directed his foul temper and mood swings toward her. He was all smiles, super attentive and very romantic and she felt beyond flattered that he'd seemed so interested in her in the first place. Ed was so good looking and popular, and his parents had A LOT of money. When he started hinting about marriage she got so excited dreaming about the kind of of life they could have together. Everyone in his circle of friends respected him and once he started dating Carol she was immediately accepted into the 'popular crowd', made up of the top jocks on the football and basketball teams and their mostly cheerleader girlfriends, who all had nice cars and designer wardrobes because their families had lots of money; the group was undoubtedly the highest rank socially in Woodbury High's microcosm of society. Carol's parents were regular working class people; her mom taught preschool in the mornings, and worked most afternoons as billing clerk for the Bell South telephone company, while her dad worked as a district manager for Hilltop Foods, a produce supplier for local grocery store chains. Carol dressed nicely enough, and supplemented the wardrobe her parents bought for her with additional clothing items here and there with her modest allowance and with her salary and tips earned at the diner but once she started dating Ed he immediately started taking her shopping at the Kingdom Mall in Atlanta for clothes, designer purses and shoes so she'd "look the part," to fit in a little more with his crowd. Ed was beyond generous toward her with his hefty allowance and took her on nice dates several nights every week. He'd spoiled her with expensive gifts and they'd gotten intimate pretty quickly, and since his abuse toward her had begun so gradually it took awhile before she truly realized what was happening; it was all about him being in control.

Ed was a spoiled brat with a fierce temper and a mean streak; despite all of his loud bravado however he was very insecure and miserable. His parents had always overindulged him with money and material things instead of the attention and discipline he'd really needed as a kid and over the years they'd created a monster. He was constantly getting into trouble to get attention from them by fighting and getting suspended from school for bullying other kids, as well as drinking and experimenting with drugs and now he had a new bad habit, bullying certain girls he dated; not all girls... only certain girls he went out with were likely to become targets and Carol fit the bill in particular because she was meek and sweet and not from his 'upper crust' background. He only truly respected other people with money.

Ed was very obsessed with appearances as well as very controlling, possessive and jealous and since Carol was really pretty and had an incredible talent he was both jealous of her and over her. He wanted ALL of her attention and all of her time and although he liked the fact that his friends seemed impressed that he was dating her, he didnt like other guys looking at her too much and wanted them to know that she was HIS and that he was in control of her and their relationship. He also felt like she should be grateful he was even dating her in the first place because his family's wealth eclipsed her own.

For the most part Carol had done everything Ed wanted but he HATED the fact that she still occasionally wanted to spend time with her brother and all of her old friends and he teased her for wanting to go 'slumming' with them. He especially abhorred her spending so much time with a 'lowlife' like Daryl Dixon and eventually his internal jealousy about everything she did or said went from verbal criticism to break her self esteem to physical abuse to control her. Carol hid the abuse very well however because it happened so gradually and she kept thinking he'd change back into the Prince Charming she'd fallen for. She really cared about Ed and initially loved her new found popularity in his crowd of friends and all of the other perks that came with dating him, but before long she knew she needed to get the hell away from him before he really hurt her... but he just wouldnt break up with her... until the night of the prom when Daryl kicked his ass into the ground. She felt terribly guilty about that whole situation, especially about Daryl getting arrested behind it, and even though she knew she'd be eternally grateful to him for defending her she just didn't know what to say to him yet.

Fortunately the crazy relationship with Ed came to an end before he really hurt her but the damage had been done. During the graduation ceremony she had to deal with several of her classmates staring at her strangely and whispering behind her back because of the whole fiasco at the prom. In just the past week since the night of the dance, Ed turned all of his friends against her by totally downplaying his own abusive role in their break up, and had started a nasty rumor about her; that she'd slept with Daryl and a few of the guys in his band, and Carol felt lucky that they all hadn't 'boo'ed' when she sang the national anthem at graduation and again when her name was called and it was her turn to walk across the stage to get her diploma and honor roll award. 

Carol knew the whispering and stares was just payback; Ed was pissed with her and he wanted revenge. After finding out that he had verbally then physically abused her since they started getting serious, Carol's parents had threatened Ed's parents with a restraining order against him. Carol had to beg them not to go through with filing it however for Daryl's sake. Ed's parents had a lot of money and a lot of clout in town and she knew that if her parents pressed charges against him it might only make Daryl's plight worse. 

Daryl had to spend a few hours in lock up after the fight but fortunately Rick Grimes' father was the officer who'd arrived on the scene and after Carol informed him that Daryl had only been fighting with Ed because he was defending her against him, he took pity on the kid. The Dixon name was not exactly in Daryl's favor due to his older brother's frequent run ins with the law but fortunately Daryl's record was squeaky clean. Ed on the other hand was nothing but trouble and Rick's dad knew it all too well. He'd repeatedly locked Ed up in the past when he worked with the juvenile division for an array of misdemeanors from disorderly conduct to underage drinking but his rich and doting parents had ALWAYS bailed him out with no consequences. 

Sheriff Grimes had to take Daryl in for questioning since he'd beaten Ed up pretty badly (and left him with a broken nose, a couple of loose teeth and two black eyes,) and everyone within ear shot had heard Ed ranting that he wanted to press full charges against Daryl and bragging that his dad's team of hotshot lawyers were going to nail that 'dirty redneck' to the wall for daring to lay his filthy paws on him, but after hearing more of the story Sheriff Grimes promised Daryl that he would convince Ed's folks to drop any charges against him once he talked to them. Their son was no angel and they owed Sheriff Grimes more than a few favors for not repeatedly throwing the book at their son in the past for his many infractions against the law.

Meanwhile while Ed was making even more of a spectacle of himself after the fight by demanding to be flown to shock trauma by helicopter (or to at least get an ambulance ride to the hospital) and while Daryl was sitting in the back of Rick's dad's squad car, it was obvious that Carol was very shook up. Abraham, Sasha, T-Dog, Michonne and Andrea all ran over to ask her what happened to cause the fight. 

As soon as Carol started to explain she'd burst into fresh sobs and Abraham pulled his 'baby sis' into his big, strong arms to calm her but she winced in pain from his 'bear hug' embrace. He glanced down at her curiously and gasped in horror when he noticed the numerous faint purplish hand shaped bruises Ed had given her in various stages of healing up and down her arms, across her shoulder blades and on her back. The sheer pink, shawl style jacket she'd worn with her prom gown to cover up her bruises had fallen to the ground while Ed had been roughing her up, and she'd forgotten to grab it in the scuffle between Ed and Daryl, and once Abe realized what had been going on he saw RED.

It took EVERYTHING in him not to start beating Ed up all over again but he knew the best thing to do was to take his sister home right away. Carol felt awful when she saw Daryl get carted off to central booking but there was little that she could do about it. Sasha went along for the ride when Abe drove Carol home; she was his prom date after all and Carol apologized to her for ruining her eveing too but Sasha was totally understanding. Abe promised her he'd make it up to her later that night as soon as he knew Carol was settled at home and she gave him a wink that let him know that she knew what he meant by that and was all for it...  
\-----

The week flew by and Daryl hadn't spoken to Carol since the night of the prom. He'd gotten bailed out by his brother and was released from jail late that same evening, but in the days that followed Merle had advised him to lay low and to not contact anyone from school until everything calmed down. He thought Merle would be mad at him for getting arrested but Merle was proud as a peacock of his little brother for being a 'real man' and defending "the Mouse", a nickname he'd given Carol upon meeting her one evening when she'd been at the house practicing with the band.

Merle had been raising Daryl since both their folks had passed on years prior and although he was crazy as all hell, Daryl respected his big brothers judgment and took his advice. He almost declined attending graduation altogether but he wanted to see Carol one last time and apologize if he'd embarrased her in front of everyone. He wouldnt have changed a thing but the last thing he wanted was to cause her further upset and figured she was pissed off at him since she hadnt reached out to him. He was very worried about her but thought it best to just leave her be until graduation day.

He couldnt take his eyes off of her during the entire program; all of his feelings for her only magnified when he saw how pretty she looked and how strong she was for dumping Ed and moving on, and he easily ignored Ed and his cronies whispered threats and other commentary backstage, refusing to be taunted into another fight before he went up to get his diploma. 

After the ceremony when everyone threw their graduation caps into the air and hugged their friends then headed their separate ways to be with their families and friends, Daryl was disappointed that he still hadn't gotten the nerve up to say goodbye to Carol and apologize so he felt sad that he'd probably never see her again but figured it was for the best. 

He got the shock of his life however when just as he and Merle were about to leave they were suddenly approached by Abraham of all people.

"Hey Dixon, wait up," Abe called out as he jogged toward Merle's truck.

"Is that ginger the asshole you had to beat up?" Merle growled under his breath. 

Daryl shook his head. "Naw... the fucker I beat up is Ed. That's there's Abraham."

"He a friend o' yers or a friend o' Ed's?" Merle asked.

"We aint exactly friends... but we ain't enemies neither. And he damn sure aint no friend of Ed's. He's Carol's brother."

"No way... the Mouse's brother?" Merle chuckled, no longer on the defensive. "Wonder what he wants?" 

"Hell if I know."

"Maybe he wants to thank you," Merle guessed.

"Yeah, right."

Just then Abe approached. "Hey Dixon," he nodded, acknowledging both brothers in a pleasant manner.

"Hey Ford, this here is my brother, Merle," Daryl muttered, then stared at him curiously. "So... what's up?" he then asked.

"Well Dixon... there's something I been wanting to say to you since last week."

"Yeah?" 

"I wanted to say... thank you," Abraham then said sincerely as he stuck out his hand to shake Daryl's. "I really appreciate what you did for my sister and I'll never forget it. She's really been through a lot these last few months with that asshole and we're lucky she had a friend like you in her corner when she needed one. My only regret is that I could'nt jump in to help you stomp his ass even more for what he did. By the time I got outside the deed was done. You really worked him over, man! His ugly mug looked like hamburger by the time you were done with him."

Merle laughed heartily and Daryl stared at Abe in disbelief as he shook his outstretched hand. "It was nothin', man. Carol didnt deserve the way he was talkin' to her and when he put his hands on her I lost it. Anybody with a shred of decency wouldve done the same."

"Thats just it... it wasn't just anybody... it was you, man. You took a stand when you saw something wrong and my whole family appreciates you for it. Carol's the sweetest goddamned person in the world, and I'm not just saying that because she's my sister. So... if you aren't doing anything special later on, I'd like to invite you to our house for supper. Our parents are throwing Carol & I a little graduation barbecue and we'd all be honored if you stopped by... Carol especially. She wanted to ask you herself Daryl but she's been a little incognito last few days, ya know. She's already on her way home with my folks. Please say you'll come. You're both more than welcomed. Daryl you already know where we live from bringing Carol home after your talent show practices. Anytime after 4 o'clock is fine. A few of our friends are gonna be there and there's gonna be a helluva spread. Barbecue ribs, baked beans, deviled eggs, corn on the cob, my moms famous homemade potato salad, and burgers, steaks, chicken and salmon on the grill..."

Daryl's heart stopped... Carol wanted him to come to her house! Before he could reply however Merle answered for him.

"You had me at barbecued ribs, brother! Trust me... we'll be there at 4 o'clock sharp!," Merle exclaimed with a grin while shaking Abe's hand. 

Once Abe was gone Merle then looked at Daryl with a grin as they climbed into the truck. "Looks like you and the Mouse are gonna be making sweet music together again soon after all, brother. I know the thought of not seeing her again was what's been botherin ya these past few weeks."

"Shut the hell up, Merle," Daryl groaned, but he couldnt wipe the smile off of his face. As always his crazy brother could read him just like a book!


	5. Backyard Barbecue- Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl heads over to Carol's house...

Abraham shook his head in disbelief as he drove away from Woodbury High's still crowded parking lot. He didnt think he'd ever seen Daryl Dixon blush before, but when he mentioned to him that Carol especially wanted him to come to their graduation barbecue, he'd as turned red as a beet and couldn't even wipe the silly grin off of his face to give him a definitive reply. It was obvious that the guy was crazy about his sister and Daryl's older brother Merle had to answer for him by saying that they'd be there.

On the ride home, Abe stopped at the neighborhood grocery store to grab the last few items his mom had said they needed for the cookout and once he arrived back at the house, he hadn't even made it inside before his twin sister was barraging him with questions. 

"Abraham! Were you able to invite Daryl over for the barbecue?" Carol called down to him from the deck. 

"Yeah," he shouted back as he lugged his purchases out of the bed of his truck.

"Yeah you invited him or yeah he's definitely coming?"

"I said yeah, woman. Damn!"

"Abraham that's still not telling me anything! What did he say exactly? Did he seem mad at me? Well? Is he coming over or not?" Carol demanded, asking those questions and at least five more within the minute or so it took him to make it from his truck to the deck staircase and once he got inside the house she was standing there with baited breath, impatiently waiting for answers. 

Abe rolled his eyes at her as he dropped everything down onto the kitchen countertop with a loud groan. He didnt feel like making two trips so he'd carried everything up at once and at that point he was damn near out of breath from lugging two big bags of ice, two cases of canned sodas and a large bag containing aluminum foil, a few extra packages of hot dogs and hot dog rolls, several extra bottles of both steak and barbecue sauce as well as pickle relish, ketchup and other condiments, and not to mention his keys and his graduation cap and gown, all up the deck staircase and inside the door without any help. 

"Yes! He's coming! Dixon is coming, okay! His brother is coming over too and he said they're gonna be here around four. Are you happy now? For heaven's sake, Carol! You must really wanna see that guy... you didnt even notice that I needed help lugging all this crap! All you're worried about is if your precious Dixon is coming to the cookout... while I'm practically dying over here!" he whined like the big, overgrown baby he was. "What are you, head over heels in love with the guy now?" he then teased with an evil grin.

Carol blushed beet red. Was it that obvious? If Abe knew she was in love with Daryl already he'd tease her about it terribly and she was NOT in the mood for that right now! 

Thankfully she was saved from further teasing however when Sasha realized what was about to happen and came to Carol's rescue. She jumped up from her perch at the counter where she sat cutting up peppers and onions for the steak and chicken kabobs destined for the grill. She lived right down the block and after graduation had changed into a pair of short denim shorts and their class t-shirt before heading right over to help out with the barbecue preparations and Abe was immediately distracted; he couldn't take his eyes off his girlfriend's gorgeous honey brown legs as she sauntered up to him with a sly smile. 

"Oh Abraham, stop exaggerating! I bet carrying that little bit of stuff didn't even make you break a sweat! Look at those muscles! You're so big and strong you can pick me up with one hand like I weigh nothing at all! Mmmm..." she purred while caressing his neck, then his massive biceps and deltoid muscles before kissing him. "I missed you... did you miss me?" she flirted while pinning him against the counter and wrapping her arms around his neck before pecking him teasingly on the lips again. 

Abe groaned with lust as he hoisted her up into his arms with ease and possessively squeezed her ass and she giggled while wrapping her legs around his waist before kissing him again a lot more soundly that time, easily distracting him from aggravating his sister any further.

Abraham was so deep in love with his beautiful girlfriend that all it took was a kiss from her to get his full attention. He was also quite vain about his own looks as well aa his impressive height and muscular physique sculpted from years of weight training and playing varsity football at school so he grinned as proud as a peacock at her compliments and had already totally forgotten all about teasing his sister about Daryl Dixon the moment before.

Carol made a mental note to thank Sasha later for rescuing her from Abe's teasing and she giggled to herself at how easily her doofus of a twin brother could get distracted. She then darted back upstairs to her bedroom and threw herself across her bed with a sigh. She felt happy yet nervous and overwhelmingly anxious all at the same time about Daryl accepting her invitation. She desperately wanted to see him and talk to him, but she was nervous that he might only be coming over out of politeness to Abe and would then tell her that he never wanted to see her again. She knew that was a bit extreme; despite his gruff exterior deep down Daryl Dixon was a sweetheart. But she couldn't really blame him if he was at least a little pissed off with her; it was all her fault that he'd gone to jail on the night of the senior prom after all.

\-----------

An hour later the savory smell of barbecue smoke was thick in the air, 80s rock music was blaring on the stereo speakers and soon Carol and Abraham's relatives and friends started arriving at the house with gifts, cards and balloons in tow for the pair.

The spacious backyard was decorated with streamers and balloons in their school colors and Mr. Ford was stationed at the grill working on the first round of burgers, kabobs, hot dogs and steaks, dressed to kill in cutoff shorts, flip flops and his signature 'Kiss The Cook' apron and a ridiculous oversized chef's hat that barely contained his halo of bushy red hair that his son Abe had inherited exactly. Mrs. Ford on the other hand had just put the finishing touches on the large foil pans brimming with her famous homemade potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, meatballs, and macaroni salad before bringing them all out onto the deck along with the cake, baked barbecued chicken, platters of deviled eggs, the big garden salad, and the rest of the spread of food, and it wasn't long before the party was in full swing.  
\----------  
The Dixon brothers ended up leaving a little late and by the time they arrived Merle had to park his truck near the end of the block because there were already so many guests at the Ford's home, but they easily found the house by simply following their noses to the source of the delicious aroma of barbecue smoke permeating the air.

Merle sauntered into the gated yard and greeted everyone with a loud, "Howdy folks", while Daryl only gave them all a polite nod. Moments later he found himself all alone because Merle had almost immediately deserted him to go grab a beer and fix himself the first of many plates of food. 

Daryl mingled through the crowd and after grabbing an ice cold soda from the cooler and getting a hamburger, he soon saw a few people he recognized from Carol and Abraham's crowd of friends from school hanging out up on the deck. 

He knew Carol wouldnt be far but he hesitated before going up to find her. Her friends were all talking, eating and laughing as usual like the countless times he'd observed them at lunch, and he wondered if they'd make fun of him for beating the hell out of Ed Peletier and technically ruining the prom, or simply ignore him as usual. He'd gone to school with all of them since junior high but had never gotten to know any of them well aside from Carol. He wasn't part of their long since established clique, and he certainly hadnt ever been introduced to Abe's beautiful girlfriend Sasha Williams nor her brother Tyreese and his girlfriend Michonne Anthony (who happened to be the class valedictorian,) nor did he expect to suddenly be accepted by that goody two shoes Lori Winters, the loud douchebag Shane Walsh or his seemingly snobby girlfriend Andrea Harrison (who happened to be the class president and the class salutatorian,) and he certainly didnt expect to be welcomed by 'Mr. Perfect' aka basketball star Rick Grimes (whose own father had actually arrested Daryl on the night of the prom,) nor did he think he'd get a warm welcome from the sassy farmer's daughter Maggie Greene either, nor from her dorky Asian boyfriend Glenn Rhee, the school's baseball star whom she couldn't seem to keep her hands off of for very long.

Daryl didnt see Carol anywhere in the crowd and was no good with social gatherings anyway so he had half a mind to turn around and simply wait for Merle alone in the truck. He looked around for his brother to get his keys and finally spotted him posted up under a tree on the far side of the yard, enjoying a beer while engaging in a seemingly deep conversation with a woman who looked just like his type. The woman was definitely what Merle would call a 'fox.' Tall and brunette with bleach blonde highlights and big tits, and not to mention long, shapely legs that Daryl couldnt help noticing from a distance. She was dressed in a lowcut, red midriff top that showed off her amazing rack, dangerously short white shorts that revealed a peek of ass cheek when she walked and a pair of tall, strappy red wedge heeled sandals that displayed her gorgeous legs. Merle was a smooth talking ladies man and one look at their body language told Daryl that the woman had already fallen for his lines. She was all over him and he chuckled to himself because he knew more likely than not the hot chick would probably end up in his brother's bed before the end of the night.

He was about to head over to grab the keys when just at that moment Abraham spotted him in the crowd and called out his name before waving him to join him up in the deck. He then felt a tap on his shoulder however and when he turned around he locked eyes with Carol and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her beautiful baby blues and her warm, sincere smile. She looked so pretty in her short white sundress that she literally took his breath away.


	6. Backyard Barbecue- Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Carol and Daryl have a secret...

"Hey you," Carol said with a smile. She thought he looked so handsome, still dressed in his neatly pressed khakis, pale blue button up shirt that perfectly matched his gorgeous blue eyes an the same pair of tan leather Oxford shoes that he'd worn at graduation earlier that afternoon. She'd never seen him dressed in anything other than jeans and t-shirts or black biker leather and it was a pleasant change, (even though she thought he was gorgeous in anything he wore.) "I'm so glad you made it," she then added before giving him a friendly hug.

"Me too," Daryl replied, trying to keep his cool as Carol then pecked him on the cheek. He really wanted to kiss her back but didnt dare. He knew that if he did he probably wouldn't be able to stop! 

Carol was wearing a short white sundress and matching flat sandals so he towered over her and as he stared down into her soft blue eyes his heart skipped a beat. She was so pretty that whenever he looked at her he immediately felt aroused, distracted, happy and confused all at the same time and that was the main reason why he'd written over a dozen love poems about her that he'd turned into songs for the band. Writing down the intense and powerful emotions he felt for her had been the only way he could successfully organize his thoughts about her. He could hardly believe that a beautiful, talented and popular girl like Carol actually wanted him around and he hoped he wouldn't put his foot in his mouth now that he'd finally worked up the nerve to tell her how he felt. He planned to finally confess just how much he cared for her and to ask her to be his girlfriend that night and he hoped she felt the same and would accept him. 

"Ummm, thanks for the invite. Merle came too by the way... hope that's a'right."

"Of course! You're both more than welcomed. There's more than enough food to go around after all."

Daryl smirked. "Might not be much left for long," he warned with a smirk. "If you only knew how much that bastard can eat," he laughed. "He's liable to scarf down all the barbecue and drink up all the beer in sight then hit up yer fridge for whatever leftovers you've got lying around to take home for breakfast tomorrow. And... well... I'm not quite sure how to say this but... I really, really think he's trying to bang one of your party guests," he then added with a sigh. "I just hope she's not already taken. Id hate for this nice party to turn into a backyard brawl once her man takes notice of my brother putting the moves on her."

"What?" Carol asked in surprise. 

Daryl pointed back toward where his brother was sitting with his thumb. "I'm sorry. Can't take him no where," he added with a groan. 

Carol glanced in the direction where Daryl was pointing and immediately spotted Merle, grinning from ear to ear in his seat at one of the picnic tables. It was obvious that he was thoroughly enjoying himself with the curvy, scantily clad woman (now sitting on his lap,) and it was equally obvious that she enamored of him as she fed him grilled shrimp and other morsels of food from her plate between kisses. They were doing some very serious flirting for two people who'd only met half an hour ago and from the looks of it they'd probably end up in bed together by the end of the evening. Daryl seemed exceedingly embarrassed about their public display of affection but Carol only laughed.

"No worries. That's Karen, my mom's friend from work down at the telephone company. She's really nice but a little on the wild side too so she's definitely time enough for your brother," she laughed. "I think my mom told me that she broke up with her boyfriend not long ago so she's here alone, and is probably on the prowl for a new one to settle down with. Merle's just her type so he probably will end up getting laid tonight..."

"Well my brother ain't exactly the settling down type, he's more of a love 'em and leave 'em type of guy... unless she can cook of course. If she can burn in the kitchen as well as in the bedroom he just might be a goner."

"She can cook. In fact she brought the meatballs... so you never know Daryl, they just might hit it off! There's somebody out there for everyone... even for Merle," she laughed.

Daryl gazed down at her intently, wishing with all his heart that she was the one for him. He played it off however and only laughed along at her joke about his brother. 

"Come on, everybody's upstairs," she then giggled, pulling him inside the sliding doors that led from the backyard into the basement level of her house. 

Daryl froze however once inside the darkened basement. The last thing he wanted to do was to go up to the balcony to sit with all of Carol's friends from their school. He never felt comfortable engaging in social interactions with people he didn't know very well and he really just wanted to continue talking to her one on one. 

He had so much on his mind that he wanted to say to her but he needed them to be alone to say any of it. He felt more comfortable around Carol than with any other girl he'd ever met but once they got around her tight knit crew of friends he knew he wouldn't feel so relaxed. He was a total outsider to her little clique and he wanted to be spared the embarrassment of trying to make small talk with them if he didn't absolutely have to. He knew they probably looked down on him for being a Dixon and for fighting at prom and ruining everyone's evening. He was still shocked that they hadn't all booed him at graduation earlier that afternoon when he'd gone up to get his diploma. "Ummm... Carol... I think I'd rather just hang out down here. I mean your friends are already sittin' up there talkin' and all... I don't wanna intrude on them."

"Intrude? Daryl this is a graduation party and you're a member of our graduating class! You belong here just like everybody else from school that Abe and I asked to come!"

"I know but... well I never hung out with any o' yer friends before... I don't think I really fit in with that crowd." 

"Of course you fit in! Daryl I really wanted you to be here today. You're my guest just like they are. They're all good people.. and you're every bit as good as they are... every bit," she then repeated sincerely.

"But... well... they probably all hate my guts. I ruined the prom! And I'm a Dixon. My family doesn't exactly have the best reputation in this town."

"Daryl my friends don't care about your last name! Maybe Ed and his friend's did, but not the people here today. They're not like that. They do however care about me and if it wasn't for you I probably would've gotten hurt pretty bad that night. Ed was so drunk and angry with me..." she paused as his face face went pale at the memory. "Never mind... I didnt mean to remind you that you went to jail because of me and I dont wanna even think about what he may have done if you hadnt stepped in."

"Carol about that night... I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make a scene. Honest. You'd already been through enough with that asshole and I only made matters worse."

"Daryl you have nothing to be sorry for. I owe you an apology for getting you mixed up in that mess. I never even said thank you. If it wasn't for you," she paused, getting choked up and her eyes filled with tears she was fighting to hold back.

"Dont mention it, Sweetheart," he said pulling her in for a hug. He just wanted to hold her tight and keep her safe and once he had her in his arms he didnt want to ever let go.

Carol on the other hand felt hot all over from being pressed against up Daryl's strong chest as he held her tight. She buried her face into the crook of his shoulder and she immediately notived that he smelled faintly of tobacco and like whatever kind of soap he'd showered with earlier and she had to stop herself from pulling him into bedroom to make out. 

But she refrained. 

The last thing she wanted was for him to think that she was easy... and she'd already had enough of making out with that bastard Ed to last a lifetime she then reminded herself. Besides Daryl didnt like her like that anyway, (and now he probably never would once she finally revealed the little secret she'd been hiding from him, her family and everyone else... and now it was just a matter of time...) she thought to herself sadly. 

Just then they heard someone coming in the sliding door behind them to use the basement restroom and he quickly yet reluctantly released her from his embrace. 

She just gave him a warm smile as she tried to push her stressful thoughts to the back of her mind. "Ummm... let's head upstairs, shall we? You'll be fine with my friends. Just trust me alright?" she asked while taking his hand back in hers.

Daryl decided to trust her but he had a stipulation. "Cool... but on one condition." 

"Sure... what is it."

"Its something I been meanin' to ask you about awhile now but so much was goin' n and we aint really had a chance to really talk in the past couple weeks. Its kinda important though... so can we talk again later on before I head home? I won't take but a few minutes of yer time, I promise" he then added with an almost nervous expression on his handsome face. 

Carol couldnt figure out why he looked so scared when she knew he was probably just gonna ask her to join the band again. She figured he might, and now that Ed was out of the way she knew she'd accept since she didn't have anything else to do all summer besides picking up a few more days at the diner until college started in the Fall. She knew they now had real paying gigs and she would really need the extra money in the days ahead. Besides, she really missed singing with him and all of the guys in the band were so sweet, especially T-Dog. Deep down she wished that he was gonna ask her out but she knew that was probably the very last thing on his mind, (especially once she revealed the little secret she was harboring, she then reminded herself disdainfully.) "Ummm... no problem. And I've got something to talk to you about too."


	7. Secrets Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, Surprise...

Once upstairs Carol led Daryl through the kitchen and outside onto the balcony deck and he couldn't help rolling his eyes because Carol's friends were all sitting around laughing at all their little inside jokes as usual. He felt like an outsider already and he really hoped they didn't get on his nerves or say anything to piss him off, especially that douche Shane Walsh, who was already staring at him curiously from the moment he and Carol walked out. Daryl had never had a problem with the guy in the past but he'd known him since junior high and he had a really big mouth.

"Hey guys, you all know Daryl, right?" Carol asked everyone smiling, while still holding onto Daryl's hand.

They all glanced up and he gave them a nod in greeting. "Hey y'all," he added shyly.

Abe then shook his hand with a big grin and thanked him again for stopping by while the rest of the gang then all began acknowledging him with pleasant hellos and then Glenn, Tyreese and Rick all jumped up to give him some 'dap' as well and then to his utter and complete shock Shane came over and patted him on the back then hugged him lightly like they were old friends. 

"Call me a prick for bringing this up if ya wanna Dixon, but I just gotta say it... you beat the hell out of that bastard Peletier on prom night!"

Daryl turned beet red, obviously embarrassed as all hell but as usual Shane just went on and on. "I mean you really did a number on his ass but he deserved every lick and probably worse for what he did to Carol... man, I couldn't have done it better myself!" he then added while shaking Daryl's hand.

Daryl was beyond shocked when everyone immediately nodded in agreement; he thought they all hated his guts for ruining their prom night but apparently they were all glad he beat Ed up!

Just then the girls, Sasha, Michonne, Maggie and Andrea all began complimenting him on his guitar skills and Lori even asked him if his band was planning to record an album anytime soon.

"The guys and I have been workin' on some material for our first record. I'm just hopin' I can convince Carol over here to join us permanently," he replied, glancing over at Carol with a wink, surprised at himself for being able to chime in with the conversation so easily. Carol was right... her friends were actually nice. He'd just never given any of them a chance because he'd always assumed they wouldn't accept him.

They all ended up talking, laughing and pigging out on barbecue while they got better acquainted with Daryl for the next couple of hours and by the end of the evening Abraham had raided the house attic and brought out his and Carol's dad's old acoustic guitar and the gang talked Daryl into playing it while Carol sang for them. Daryl couldn't take his eyes off of her as she sang Stevie Nick''s classic 'Landslide', and they did such an awesome job everyone still at the party was cheering for them when they finished the song. 

After a little while longer the last of the guests started leaving, (including Merle who'd eagerly tossed Daryl his truck keys and told him "dont wait up," with a wink because he was going to spend the night with Karen at her apartment and Daryl only shook his head at him with a combination of amusement and annoyance.

Daryl volunteered to help clean up and the minute he and Carol were alone in the kitchen putting leftovers away, she pulled him aside and let him know just how much she'd enjoyed singing with him again and that she planned on officially joining his band if he was sure that all of the members would still be okay with it. 

Daryl was ecstatic as he assured her that it had been a unanimous decision among the guys to let her in and that now that she had joined he planned to officially change the name of the band from Cherokee to Cherokee Rose in honor of her middle name. "We've already got three paying gigs lined up including the county fair coming up and Ive been in talks with a guy down at Georgia Peach Studios. He's got the cheapest studio rates in town so I was thinkin' after a couple rehearsals of a few of the new songs I wrote we could go down there to record a demo in a couple weeks." Carol agreed and thought it was all a great idea.

When the clean up was done Carol walked with him down the block to Merle's truck. He was silent the entire time and Carol wondered what was bothering him since after telling him she'd join the band he seemed the happiest she'd ever seen him but when the reached the truck he took his hand in hers with a gravely serious facial expression.

"Daryl is everything ok?"

"No... there's one more thing I need to say to ya. I didnt know how to tell you this before but I gotta say it now while I got up the nerve."

"What is it, Daryl?"

He took a deep breath. "Well... since meeting you in music class and getting to know you these past few months... well, I've really started caring 'bout you, Carol. A LOT. More than anyone in fact. I think you're talented and beautiful and you're always on my mind. I think about you before I go to bed at night and as soon as I wake up in the morning. Aint no creep or nothing of course... but I just wanna be around you anytime you'll let me... to keep ya safe, and be whatever ya need. If ya just wanna be friends Ill settle for that, but if you give me a chance to be yer boyfriend Id never, ever hurt ya, and I'd just try my best to make you happy. We're just graduatin' high school, you'll be startin' college soon, I got a job lined up and we got a promisin' future with this music thing too so our whole lives are ahead of us. It's too soon to get all serious just yet but I want you to be my girl. You can say no of course, Ill still care for ya and it wont affect your standin' with the band or nothin' 'cuz I don't wanna pressure you... I mean I know ya just broke up with Ed and all that but... can I take you out sometime?"

"You mean like on a date?" she asked, her blue eyes sparkling as she held back her tears.

"Yes... but please don't cry, Carol. I'm sorry if I upset ya with all this. Maybe its too soon to ask you since your break up. You need time to heal from all that. And I know I aint good enough for ya...'"

"Daryl dont say that. You are good enough. And I'd love to date you. But I dont want to tie you down with all my baggage from my relationship with Ed."

"What baggage from the relationship with Ed? Its all over now... I mean you dumped him, right?"

"I did dump him... but its not over. Daryl I havent told any else this yet, and please dont do anything... but my cycle is terribly late and I think I'm pregnant by Ed," she confessed, then burst into sobs at hearing herself say it aloud for the first time.


	8. Reassurances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl offers his support; Carol accepts!

"I'm so ashamed!" Carol sobbed, burying her face in Daryl's chest.

"Carol don't be ashamed... it happens. Please don't cry!" he added, holding her tight.

"I can't help it. This is so embarrassing! You saw our yearbook... I was voted "Most Likely To Succeed!"

"I voted for you! And its still true! You are still gonna succeed, Carol."

"Okay but how much can I really expect to succeed as a teen pregnancy statistic?"

"This isnt the end of you Carol. And you've got options..."

"No I don't." Carol said in a no nonsense tone. 

"Sorry," Daryl mumbled. He knew how that sounded and regretted even mentioning it.

Carol went on. "I know I sound angry but I love this baby, so adoption or any other options out there are out of the question. And I know I can still be successful in life but having a child right now is just gonna make everything that much harder but theres no other solution. I dont wanna be with Ed so I'm just gonna have to figure out how to raise this baby alone. And another thing, how am I ever gonna tell my son or daughter that the reason Im not with their dad is because he hurt me?"

"Kids need to know the truth Carol and when the time comes you'll know what to say and how to say it. And you won't be all alone in this. You've got family that loves ya and friends who care... and you've got me. I promise you, I'm not going anywhere. You've also got a helluva lot more talent and potential in your little finger that most folk have in their entire bodies so things are gonna work out. I promise Sweetheart," Daryl soothed, hugging her again and wiping away her tears. He was a little saddened by the news initially because of seeing Carol so upset but he still wanted to be with her regardless so it wasn't a deal breaker. "It's a baby, Carol, not the end of the world... and like I said, its not the end of you... nor the end of us... that is if you want there to be an us," he then added as he tried to reassure her.

"I do... but Daryl this is gonna ruin everything! Now I'm not blaming the baby... he or she is innocent in all this but I just cant believe I was stupid enough to let this happen in the first place! Ed didn't always use protection when we were together but if I had insisted he did every time I wouldn't be in this mess! I don't want anything to do with Ed whatsoever, ever again for what he did to me, but now I'll be stuck having to deal with him for the next 18+ years if wants part of this child's life. And I know he will, even if its just out of spite to torment me."

Daryl shrugged sheepishly. "You don't have to tell him. You don't owe him shit." 

"I thought about that and I really, really wish I didnt have to say anything to him about it but it just wouldn't be right not to. Ed's a jerk so he's probably gonna shit a brick when he finds out I'm pregnant but he deserves to know that he has a child on the way. If you were the dad wouldn't you want to know?"

Daryl didn't even have to think about it as he immediately shook his head yes. He'd never imagined such a thing happening in his life before until now but he knew that if he had a baby on the way with Carol he'd most definitely want to know about it as soon as possible so that he could love it, provide for it and help raise it, even if she didn't want to be with him in a relationship.

She went on. "And another thing, I have a grand total of $532.77 to my name in my savings account, plus maybe twelve hundred or so in savings bonds that I cant even cash in until my birthday. How am I gonna buy a crib, a car seat, baby clothes, maternity clothes, formula and everything else I'm gonna need with that? I only make minimum wage at the diner plus tips and there'll be a few months in the near future that I wont even be able to sing with the band when you guys start going on paying gigs to make extra money. Once I start really showing until at least several months after I have the baby Ill be mostly house bound so I'm gonna need Ed's help financially. Babies are very expensive but his family is freakin' loaded. I don't want to ask him for jack shit but I'll swallow my pride and do whatever I have to to make sure this baby gets whatever it needs. I can't burden my parents with this right now, money's already gonna be a little tight for them with both Abe and I starting college in the Fall... even though now that I think about it I'm probably gonna have to drop out after my first semester. My folks looked so happy today at graduation but now they're gonna be so disappointed in me," she whimpered holding back a new set of tears.

Daryl lightly rubbed her back. "Carol don't worry. Your parents might be upset at first but they'll get over it. Before you know it they're gonna fall head over heels in love with that kid and will be happy to help ya. And even if Ed helps ya with everything, I will too. I promise, Carol."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You didnt... but I am. I just told you how much I wanna be with you. This dont change nothin' Carol. An innocent little baby is a blessing regardless of how it gets here. I still want you to be my girl." 

"Daryl. Did you hear anything I just said? I'm having Ed's baby."

I don't care. I still wanna date ya... that is... if you'll have me," he replied shyly. "We can go as slow or as fast as ya want."

"I'd feel more comfortable if we went slow first, but I definitely wanna be with you too. I care for you very much and now more than ever. You're the most caring person I've ever met. But are you sure Daryl? Things could get really, really crazy in the next few months. I dont wanna scare you off once my hormones go haywire and I gain 30 pounds."

"Don't care about that none."

"You positive? I'm about to have to grow up really fast. We should be having fun right now without a care in the world, not stressing about my teen pregnancy crisis! This is NOT exactly the best way for us to try to start a relationship."

"Aint no situation perfect Sweetheart, and from what I understand aint no perfect relationships either. We just gotta be true to each other and try to make the best of it day by day. Just need you to trust me. Will you?" he asked.

"I will," she whispered and a moment later they shared their very first kiss.


	9. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Communication is key...

Daryl and Carol started dating on the night of the barbecue and he promised her that he'd stay by her side through everything no matter what and he meant it. He gave her extra money whenever he worked overtime at the garage, drove her to the free clinic in downtown Atlanta and held her hand during her prenatal appointments and when she finally got the nerve up to tell her parents that she was pregnant a couple of weeks later Daryl was right there. 

As expected they were more than a little upset by the news and Mr. Ford looked like he was going to strangle Daryl with his bare hands, until Carol revealed that Daryl wasnt to blame.

Ed was the father of the child so of course they feared that he'd taken advantage of her since it had already come out that he'd abused her both physically as well as emotionally. Carol's mother started crying and her father got up in silence and left the room presumably to get his shotgun but Carol begged him not to do anything rash, assuring him that that hadn't been the case.

After a long and tearful heart to heart talk that night it was decided that Carol would continue with her college plans as scheduled, but instead of moving into the dormitory on campus in the Fall, she'd simply stay on at home with her baby until she got on her feet. Her parents reassured her that they'd help all they could and since Abraham was planning on moving into an apartment with Sasha in another six months or so (they'd surprised the family with their engagement news a few days prior and planned to be wed as soon as he completed his basic training with the Army Reserves,) she could use his old bedroom as the nursery once he moved out. It was also decided that she would contact Ed as soon as she felt ready to talk to him to set up a sit down with him and both sets of parents, and it was the general consensus that it would be best if Daryl didn't attend. 

Of course Daryl wanted to stay by Carol's side but he'd already beat the bastard up once and at that point they all knew that he wouldn't be able to hold back if he saw him again and he made any disrespectful comments toward Carol. Carol didnt want Daryl jeopardizing him getting into anymore trouble with the law so she insisted that he stay at home whenever the date was set.

After the dreaded talk was over Daryl let Carol know that he was gonna head home and Carol's father told him that he'd walk him outside. He shook his hand and let him know that he appreciated everything he'd done for Carol as a friend and could easily see that he cared for his daughter very much. He then added however that Carol was about to become a mom and that was her top priority, and that reality would most likely complicate their blooming relationship. He then told Daryl that they would all understand if things became 'too much' for him to deal with in time. He was only 18 and neither Carol nor the baby were really his responsibility and he'd tell his own son Abraham the same thing if he were in a similar situation. Daryl assured Mr. Ford however that he'd given Carol his word that he wasn't going anywhere, and he didn't plan to. She hadn't pressured him into anything; he wanted to be there for her and to help.

When Carol finally called Ed a few weeks later and asked if she could come to see him she was surprised at his response. 

"Well its about damn time! My mother told me you'd be sorry and come to your senses eventually, Carol."

"Ed you know what you did to me so I'm not sorry for anything except dating you in the first place."

"The what in the hell are you calling me for?  
Things not workin' out so good with that redneck loser? I knew you'd come crawling back," he laughed. "Too bad that boat has already sailed, Sweetheart. You're too late. I've already got a new girlfriend... she's a real woman with looks, style and class and not to mention a pedigree you couldn't hold a candle to," he sneered.

"Im not crawling back to you, Ed. I'm glad you're happy. I just hope you treat your new girlfriend better than you treated me. In fact, your asinine behavior is what opened my eyes to what a real relationship should be like. Unfortunately we have a problem."

"We? There is no we, Carol! Not anymore... and especially not after you sicc'd your little hillbilly attack dog on me on the night of the prom. He's lucky I dont have any scars on my prety face, luckier my folks didnt press charges against him and luckier still that I didnt let him have it myself that night! If he hadn't sucker punched me first I would've left his redneck ass in a sling!"

Carol rolled her eyes. Ed was so full of shit! She didnt even have the strength to tell him that he was no match for Daryl whatsoever. He was nothing more than a bully toward women, and even if he'd tried fighting Daryl back that night, he still would've gotten his ass whipped.

"Ed, that's irrelevant at this point. And WE DO have a problem. Look... are your parents at home?"

"Yeah... why?"

"We really need to talk. My parents and I are just gonna come over there now."

"Your parents? Just what in the hell is this all about Carol?" he shouted angrily.

"Ed, I'm pregnant and the baby is yours."


	10. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ford's vs. the Peletier's...

Before Carol hung up the phone she heard Ed call her a damned liar as well as a dirty whore while shouting a litany of other curses, threats and insults toward her at the top of his lungs but she refused to let him break her spirit nor her resolve and she simply hung up on him.

When she and her parents arrived at his family's palatial estate in their gated, suburban Alpharetta, Georgia neighborhood an hour or so later both Mr. and Mrs. Ford were surprised and more than a bit intimidated. It was obvious that Ed's parents were quite rich and they knew they were probably going to be in for the fight of their lives while trying to work out some type of child support agreement for the baby.

As expected Ed acted like an ape when they arrived and his parents weren't much better. They were in total shock and initially were dead set against entertaining Carol and her family's requests for assistance. Once Ed finally admitted that he had in fact been intimate with Carol while they dated in the past couple of months and that he hadn't always used protection, their demeanor changed. It was quite possible that Carol was carrying their only grandchild and they had a change of heart. Only a post partum paternity test would reveal the truth and until that could be done they finally relented to cover all of Carol's medical expenses, to pay for the paternity test once the baby was born and to give her a credit card to purchase anything she needed for the nursery in the meantime.

The Ford's thought that was fair and were just about to leave when Mrs. Peletier added an extra stipulation.

"Of course we still have our doubts about Carol's motives... if this child turns out to not be by our son we want every penny of our money back on threat of legal action. We haven't forgotten your accusations against our son young lady. First you seduced him and once he fell for your charms you eagerly accepted all of his expensive gifts, then when you got all you wanted you started spreading lies that he smacked you around and he ended up getting beat up by some thug you're in a band with! Then once we thought he was finally rid of you, you pop up on our doorstep claiming to be pregnant by him and demanding money from us," she added with a haughty air. "You've gotta admit it looks suspicious."

Carol stood. "My accusations against Ed were all true. He was cruel to me and very abusive. He's got a horrible temper problem and you know it. You know what kind of son you've raised. That's why you didnt press charges against Daryl when Officer Grimes asked you not to because you owed him favors for not throwing the book at Ed in the past. And for the record, I'm not demanding anything from you people. I just came here to tell you personally that I'm pregnant and the baby is Ed's in case any of you want to be a part of this child's life. And I do need financial help, which the baby deserves and should be Ed's privilege to do but I'm not desperate, I won't beg and I definitely won't be insulted. I didnt ask for this and wish with all my might it hadn't happened but its too late for that now."

"Young lady that's quite enough!" Ed's mother snapped. "My husband and I are sick about this news! Do you think we wanted our son's future ruined by some pretty trollop who's only after his trust fund money?"

Mrs. Ford jumped to Carol's defense. "Dont you dare insult my child this way! She isn't after anything from you people! Your son is a monster! My daughter had bruises on her back and arms for weeks from that beast manhandling her and she cried herself to sleep for weeks over that whole situation! You're lucky we didnt press full charges against him and that my son and husband didnt beat him worse than Daryl did. You think we wanted this for her? She had a bright future ahead of her but now shes stuck with that monster's baby! Its not the end of her life but dating your son was the worst mistake she could have ever made!"

Mrs. Peletier looked ashamed at that statement and even Ed hung his head. At the mention of Carol's bruises that he'd inflicted he felt ashamed of himself for the first time in his entire life because of something he'd done. He also felt scared as all hell at the way Mr. Ford kept glaring at him like he wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp. 

Mr. Peletier then stood. "Look... we're reasonable people. We have to have boundaries, but if the child is Ed's... I promise you today that I'll personally create a one million dollar trust fund for the baby that will grow considerably and will become accessible once he or she graduates college. We'll also increase our monetary support by incorporating monthly payments to be paid to Carol directly on Ed's behalf; until he starts working full time after college and can take over the payments himself, of course until the baby is grown. And Ed will definitely be participating in the baby's life and will be attending anger management and parenting classes."

"I will not!" Ed exclaimed.

"Oh yes you will. And you're gonna apologize to Carol! If you dont, you'll lose your car, your college fund and your allowance!"

Ed pouted but agreed and finally apologized to Carol as expected. Mr. Peletier had put his foot all the way down and made his son take responsibility for once!

"And I'll be happy to help out with babysitting when I can," Mrs Peletier then added with a defeated sigh.

When they left Carol still felt a little insulted by the insinuation that the baby may not be Ed's but she had no choice but to agree to the Peletier's conditions. She KNEW that Ed was the father of her baby; it was just a matter of time before the Peletier's knew it too but she could live with that.

As soon as she got home she called Daryl to tell him everything that happened and he stopped everything to go to her house to be there for her. As always he offered the support she needed and she loved him all the more for it.


	11. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Daryl and Merle have some pretty big plans for the near future...

A few months later...

The minute Daryl got off after working a few hours of overtime down at the garage he flew home like a bat out of hell to get a quick shower and change his clothes. The band had another gig that evening down at the Zombie, a popular nightclub with the local college crowd, and his oil smudged khaki work jumpsuit just wouldn't cut it. He needed to at least look the part of an aspiring rock musician and not like an assistant mechanic because there was supposedly gonna be a record producer at the club that night. He and the rest of the band had recorded a 10 track demo cassette tape in Merle's garage at the end of the summer and he wanted their new manager, Morgan, to pass a copy to the producer that night in hopes of Cherokee Rose getting a shot at the bigtime. 

That night was to be their sixth straight weekend playing the Zombie (but who was counting) and surprisingly Carol was the one who'd gotten them the gig in the first place. She'd started classes at Woodbury State University at the end of August and since she still wasn't showing too much yet (even though she was eating everything in sight it seemed and had already started complaining that none of her size 5 jeans fit at all anymore and the size 6 pair she'd recently bought only barely fit,) she was still very active with the band's rehearsals and gigs, and had signed Cherokee Rose up to audition to perform at the pre-homecoming game's pep rally and during the halftime show. They aced the audition and ended up performing classic covers of Queen's "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions" and several other of their crowd rousing hits during the event and the performances were a huge success. 

The Zombie club owner, Jim, was a Woodbury alum and happened to be in the audience that night. He saw how the crowd went wild during the halftime show and he wanted Cherokee Rose to play at his nightclub. The Zombie was the biggest college club in town and he figured that a band with their potential could get a following over time and draw in huge crowds generating untold profits. After introducing himself to the band members he gave them an offer they couldn't refuse, $500 dollars to play a set on that upcoming Saturday night and more if they could get a bigger following on the next Saturday night. Once split equally it came to a little over $80 bucks for each member every weekend which was a decent amount of extra pocket change in 1984.

Carol and the rest of the band members (Daryl-bass guitar, Morales- electric guitar, Tobin- backing vocals & acoustic guitar, T-Dog- drums and backing vocals & Ezekiel- keyboards and vocals) spent the next week plastering Woodbury's campus and all of the surrounding area college campuses, shopping malls, bus stops and gas stations with fliers about their upcoming headlining event at the Zombie and that Saturday night the line was wrapped around the block. In fact, Jim made so much money that night that he threw in an extra $200 as a bonus and booked the band for every weekend for the next month. He also introduced them to his good friend Morgan Jones, who offered to be their manager, and since he seemed really nice, had a decent amount of experience, and (most importantly) promised he wouldn't take a penny of his 20% fee until he got them a record deal, they accepted.

Daryl gave half of his share of the show money each week to Carol to help out with items she needed for herself and the baby, and saved the other half for studio time for when they finally re-recorded their demo. He also asked each of the other members of the band to give him a few bucks from their share from every gig they played to go toward his growing studio fund. Once they had a professional sounding version of their demo tape they would be ready for the big time. They were really good and he had a hunch that their original material would sell like hotcakes if they got a record deal and made an album.  
\-------  
Daryl had to pick Carol up before heading down to the club that evening so he had to move fast. He'd barely gotten inside the door however when he heard his brother's big mouth.

"That you, Darlina?" Merle called from his spot on the couch as soon as Daryl's key opened the front door of their double wide trailer. He'd taken the day off and after running a few errands early that morning he'd spent the rest of the day watching old Westerns and repeat episodes of The Love Boat on TV while flipping through the newspaper. "It's about damn time! Get yer ass in here, Brother!" he laughed.

"Hey Merle," Daryl replied with a smirk. He could only imagine what had Merle in such a giddy mood. They had only recently started talking again on friendly terms. A few weeks prior Merle had pissed Daryl off royally when he found out about Carol's pregnancy and had made a not so nice remark about it. Daryl was livid and it only made matters worse when Merle then added that he didn't like the idea of his kid brother getting strapped down so young to a girl who was having a kid who wasn't his. Daryl cursed him out and they ended up having a wicked argument about it that almost got physical but once Merle realized how much Daryl loved Carol he had a change of heart and had sincerely apologized.

Merle grinned. "Hey man! What do ya say we head down to Dale's for supper tonight? I'm starvin' and there's nothing left to eat in this house except a few packs o' ramen noodles and a couple o' cans o' soup," he frowned. "I'll go to the grocery store to stock up tomorrow but in the meantime... I've got this!" he chuckled, producing a slip of paper from his pocket and holding it up proudly.

"What's that?" Daryl asked.

"A coupon I lucked up and found in the paper! Its for half off any two dinner entrees and the all you can eat soup 'n salad bar at Dale's and I'm in the mood for one o' their big, juicy steaks and a baked potato or two! Are ya game? My treat..." he then added waving the coupon in his direction teasingly.

It was a tempting offer. Dale Horvath's Steakhouse was a little on the expensive side but they had the best steaks in town hands down and served huge portions. It had been so crazy busy at the garage all day that Daryl had missed lunch so since he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast a big steak dinner with all the fixings sounded amazing but he just couldn't do it. He had less than an hour to get changed and pick Carol up before heading down to the club. He'd just have to get something to eat at the Zombie. They catered to college kids so they sold cheap beer, nachos, burgers and other inexpensive appetizers.

"Awww I can't Merle... trust me I wish I could but the band's got another paying gig tonight. Five hundred bucks and up to another $200 as a bonus if we pack the house again which I really think we will. Word's been spreading about us like crazy."

Merle whistled. "That's a lot o' bread brother but ya been workin' a lot o' overtime lately, practicing with the band most nights each week and spendin' all the rest o' yer free time with the Mouse. I hardly get to see ya, Kid," he pouted. "I miss ya!" he then admitted. He'd really felt awful about the things he'd said about Carol and was so glad that he and Daryl were back on good terms.

"Oh please!" Daryl laughed. "You've been shacked up with Karen most nights ever since Carol and Abraham's graduation barbecue back in June so I know you can't possibly miss me that much! Yer out bumpin' uglies over at her place every other night so you're hardly ever home either! Why don't you just take her to dinner at Dale's?"

"I wish I could Brother but she's out of town again this weekend... last month it was down in Florida with her best girlfriend and this time she's over in Savannah visiting her two sisters. She just left on Thursday and promised she'd be back before the end of the week but I miss her like crazy already," he admitted. "I can't stop thinking about her! I'm going nuts over here!"

"Never thought I'd see the day when my big brother fell in love! I can see it now in the headlines... Merle Dixon, the consummate gigolo... finally out of commission due to being pussy whipped!" Daryl laughed.

"Tease me all ya want... but that's how I feel. Brother, I think she's the one fer me. Don't tell anybody but... well... I put a little ring on layaway for her down at the Sears and Roebuck this mornin'," he blushed. "I got 2 more payments left and it'll be paid off in December. She's spending Christmas out in Savannah with her family but she said she'll be all mine afterward so I'm gonna pop the question on New Year's Eve at the stroke of midnight... I got it all planned. I know it seems fast but times a wastin' and I aint gettin' no younger. I need to snatch her up before somebody else beats me to it! She's a good woman, Daryl. Smart as all hell with a good head on her shoulders, she's a goddamned knock out, she can cook her ass off, and not to mention she knocks my socks off in the bedroom to boot! And did I mention that she actually likes me? Me! Ole' Merle? Stubborn, cranky, half crazy, old me! Can't ask for more than that, Brother! I realize now that if ya love a woman you gotta show 'em how ya feel if ya really wanna hold on to 'em and I figure nothing'll show that woman how I feel about her more than an offer to wear both my ring and my last name will."

Daryl grinned. "Well Brother, it seems that congratulations are in order!" he replied, shaking Merle's hand before pulling him in for a big hug. 'And point taken,' he then thought to himself but didn't say aloud.


	12. Valentine's Day Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol's bundle of joy arrives... and Daryl couldnt be happier!

A few months later

Despite the loose sundresses, oversized tops, loosely draped shawl sweaters and long maxi skirts she'd started wearing in an attempt to camoflage her condition at school and during band performances, Carol knew there were no more creative ways to hide the rapidly growing life inside her. She was showing in a major way and although she was still quite tiny otherwise just about all of the weight she'd gained during her pregnancy was the baby itself so there was no way to hide it anymore. Her belly looked like it was going to pop any minute! After Christmas she finally decided to just take the upcoming spring semester off from school as well as take a brief hiatus from performing with the band until after the baby came and they had a few months to simply bond at home. She stayed on at the diner a few months longer however (until she felt she was just entirely too big to maneuver around the tables anymore,) and her manager laughed and promised he'd save her job until whenever she decided to come back. Money would be tight but fortunately Ed's parents had kept their word and supplemented her income and with her parents and Daryl's help she was able to get everything she needed for the baby.

Daryl had kept his word as well; he'd fallen so deeply in love with Carol that he cherished her and the baby above everything else in his life. He was happier than he'd ever been and no one in a million years would have ever guessed that her unborn baby wasnt his, particularly if they saw how proudly and protectively he held her hand during her prenatal appointments and always asked the doctor nearly as many questions as she did. When they found out that Carol was having a girl neither Daryl, nor Carol's dad, nor Abe (nor Merle!) could wipe the dopey grins off their faces and Carol knew that her precious daughter would have the hearts of all of the adoring men in their lives wrapped around her tiny finger.

Ed was nowhere to be found half the time at this point (he was too busy chasing girls and partying hard with his new fraternity brothers down at the University of Alabama) so he wasn't nearly as attentive concerning Carol's pregnancy as he should've been but she didnt mind a bit; she didnt want to spend anymore time around him than what was absolutely necessary anyway. She had to admit however that his anger management classes had definitely had a positive effect on him; whenever she did have to interact with him (usually due to his mother's insistence that she come over to visit whenever he came home for the weekend) she'd noticed that he was actually tolerable for more than a few minutes at a time since his counseling and even though he wanted a boy initially he didnt seem at all disappointed when he found out that they had a baby girl on the way.

Carol's due date was fast approaching and late afternoon on Valentine's Day 1985, her water broke. She'd been preparing for this moment for months but when it happened she was scared to death. No one was at home; Abe was training at Fort Benning and her parents were both still at work. Her Mom's friend Jacqui who lived just up the block was out of town and neighbors Patricia and Otis, weren't answering the phone. She didn't really want to call Ed's folks unless she absolutely had to so the only other person she knew she could get in touch with was Daryl. She hated to bother him but as promised he stopped everything and immediately left work and drove like a bat out of hell to get her to the hospital before she went into labor and held her hand as always as soon as soon as she got settled into her room. 

Hours later Sophia Valentina Peletier was born at 8pm on the nose weighing in at 5lb, 2oz; and her middle name was changed at the last minute in honor of her surprise Valentine's birthday. She had a headful of thick, platinum blonde curls, rosy cheeks, long eyelashes and her father Ed's pale gray eyes and was the prettiest and sweetest baby they'd ever seen. Carol was ecstatic and her family was overjoyed. The obligatory paternity test that immediately followed soon revealed that Ed was indeed the father and his parents broke out into happy tears and promises to shower the baby with their love and named her then and there as a rightful heiress to their family's wealth. Ed arrived hours later but even he was overwhelmed with happiness when he finally met little Sophia and promised to be a good dad to her.

But no one present was happier or prouder than Daryl; Carol had included him in her new life and by extension had given him a new family and he vowed to do everything in his power to love them and keep them safe and happy.


	13. Insomnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its the last night of the band's first tour and Daryl cant sleep...

8 months later...  
Sunday night, late August '85...

T-Dog poked his head out of the sliding balcony doors of his and Daryl's shared room at the Sea Breeze Motel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. "Yo Dixon, we knocked on Morgan's door and got no response. He went swimming this afternoon then took a walk to the pier and back after we got back from dinner so I'm pretty sure he's exhausted. Probably down for the count at this point. So... we're all about to head out to hit The Bowery Bar up near the Pavilion in a few. You coming?" 

Daryl glanced up from the notepad he was scribbling ideas on for a new song he'd been playing around with in his head. He was tempted by his good friend's offer of another night out on the town but deep down he knew it was best to decline. They'd partied hard the night before and had finally had a free day just to relax at the beach before heading home then they'd all gone to dinner to celebrate again so now Daryl just wanted to relax by himself.

Cherokee Rose had just wrapped up their first summer concert series after recording their album several months prior and since a few of their singles had begun burning up the rock charts, the band had become an overnight sensation. 

Boatloads of money from their percentage of ticket sales from their 21 city, 33 show concert tour across the southern states were pouring in and their album had gone gold within just a few months of it dropping in stores. In addition, according to the execs at their record label, the Cherokee Rose album was already nearing platinum status and there were whispers of a possible Grammy nomination nod or two in the future. They had an impressive following that was growing by leaps and bounds and not one but two fan clubs already, and the success they'd gained thus far was well beyond all their wildest dreams. 

The recording and royalties contract that band manager Morgan Jones was able to negotiate for Cherokee Rose was pretty impressive, especially considering that it was their first album and they were all a bunch of kids with no formal musical training whatsoever that no one had ever heard of outside of Atlanta until quite recently but somehow they'd beaten the odds and found success right away. Opportunities for TV appearances were already scheduled in the next couple of months including upcoming music video shoots for their 3 top ten hits on the new MTV network, interviews booked on upcoming episodes of Good Morning America and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and even a chance to perform on Saturday Night Live! It was 1985 after all so it didnt get much better than that! 

Unfortunately the band members were all still quite young and as such there were a lot of temptations and pitfalls they could easily fall victim to such as teen pregnancy (which lead singer Carol had already experienced), underage drinking and illicit drugs, so Morgan was very overprotective of them while on tour but as always boys would be boys and as such they easily found a way around his strict curfew and other rules. 

They'd discovered early on that Morgan was an 'early to bed, early to rise' type of guy on the nights they didnt have performances scheduled anywhere and that once he was asleep he usually slept like a log. He needed plenty of sleep because in addition to being tour manager, he also drove the tour bus during the last couple weeks of the tour since their previous driver, Gabriel, had gotten sick and had to return to Atlanta early. Since the beginning of the tour, Morgan usually got a room to himself but had mostly just bunked in rooms adjoining the guys' suites, and unless he was disturbed, he usually slept all through the night so as long as the guys waitied until he was in a deep sleep before venturing out and if they were able to drag themselves in before sunup they could occasionally slip out from time to time for a little extracurricular fun.

Daryl and his fellow band members (excluding Carol) and their roadies Oscar & Bob (T-Dog's brother and cousin respectively, who'd come along on the road tour to help out as needed,) had all recently gotten fake ID's printed up for their night runs to drink and 'bag chicks' as Morales called it, (although Daryl never participated in that aspect of their outings due to his devotion to Carol.) Considering that they'd all become overnight rock stars however, no bartender who'd heard of them would've turned them away for a drink or two even without the fake ID's, but the guys always kept them handy anyway.

Despite their new found fame, the guys still had to sneak out past the strict curfew Morgan had in place to keep them all in line while on tour for their late night rendezvous. It was exciting and fun to sneak out, but truth be told, Daryl had had enough of bar hopping in the last couple months to last a lifetime. Besides, Morgan trusted them and Daryl didnt like betraying that trust. They owed the bulk of their new found success to the man and he was only strict on them because he genuinely cared and wanted to keep them all out of trouble. The last thing they needed was any bad press while out drinking underage when their music careers were just getting off the ground. Too much was at stake.

Daryl sighed and shook his head no. "Nah man, not tonight. I think I'm gonna turn in a little early. Y'all have fun though."

"Awww man!" T-Dog groaned. "Dixon you suck, you know that? We're supposed to be celebrating! The tour is over! We're going back home tomorrow to get paid!"

"I know, but I'm just barely over this morning's hangover after celebrating all night last night after the final show! And we almost got caught!" 

"We did not!"

"Did too! If we got in just a few minutes later than we did, Morgan would have been wide awake and we would've never heard the end of it."

"Yeah, yeah. Fine man, have it your way. That'll just mean more drinks and groupies for the rest of us! This is our last night here and these Myrtle Beach chicks are hot! Not that you care about getting laid," he then added teasingly. T-Dog knew how crazy Daryl still was about Carol, even though since she'd had her baby and they'd signed their recording contract, they'd been compelled to slow their relationship way down. "Well Dixon I'll see you in the am. Don't wait up party pooper!"

"Yeah, yeah," Daryl groaned while flipping him the bird. "Look T, 'll run interference for y'all as long as I can in case Morgan pokes his head in here but please try to keep Morales in line. You know he always goes overboard and Morgan'll go ballistic if anything crazy happens. Besides, he wants to get on the road early so we can grab breakfast someplace on the way home. We've gotta be at label headquarters by 3 pm tomorrow to pick up our checks and I really dont wanna hear his whining first thing in the morning, so don't stay out all night. Its a five hour drive so he wants us packed up and ready to roll by eight."

"Yessir," T-Dog saluted with a smirk before heading out with Ezekiel, Tobin, Morales, Oscar and Bob in tow, to hit the bar and nightclub scene lining the beach front strip.  
___________________

A little while after the guys left Daryl took a shower then crashed for the night. It was only a little after midnight at that point so he couldnt fall asleep just yet. All of the late nights lately had totally screwed up his sleep pattern. He thought about watching a movie but after flipping through the channels he realized there wasnt anything worth watching on. He really wanted to call Carol in her private room down hall but he figured that she was already asleep and he didnt want to disturb her. Touring had taken a lot out of her and he wanted her to get her rest. He figured maybe eating a little something might help him sleep.

After inspecting the cabinets and the fridge and finding nothing decent, he grabbed a handful of change from the dish on the kitchenette table then ran out in his t-shirt and boxer shorts to just grab something to eat and drink from the numerous vending machines down in the motel lobby. The Sea Breeze was no Waldorf Astoria by any means but it was a lot nicer than some of the other hole in the wall places they'd stayed in to stay within their tight concert tour budget. 'At least the place has snack machines... last dump we stayed in didnt even have ice machines,'' he thought to himself with a smirk. 

As he rode the elevator to the lobby he thought about how much his life had changed in the past year; he'd quit his job at the garage; saved the bulk of his over a hundred thousand dollar contract signing bonus and spent the remainder wisely by renting and furnishing his first apartment (and paid the first full year's worth of monthly payments in advance,) paid cash for his dream car (a fully restored vintage '74 Ford Mustang,) and had plans to finally buy himself a brand new Harley Davidson motorcycle of his own when the band got home that next day and received the first of their tour and royalty paychecks (no more borrowing Merle's bike!) He finally had some real money in the bank for the first time in his life, true friends, and he was doing something he loved to boot. Most importantly he even had a girl he was crazy about and had actually started a relationship with her.

Unfortunately however the executives at his new record label weren't too thrilled when they found out about him dating Carol. They figured the band would get a much bigger fan following if they thought all the band members were single. They wanted to market each of the guys as single, sexy rock stars that the band's male fans would emulate and that their female fans would swoon over. On the other hand they wished to market Carol as a sultry, sexy songbird that her female fans would emulate and the band's male fans would fantasize about and lust over. They insisted that she didnt talk about her baby in interviews and that she and Daryl showed absolutely no public displays of affection whatsoever. Daryl didnt like any of the deception one bit and was about to tell them all to go to hell but when he was urged by Morgan to just play ball for now because of all the money to be made he and Carol reluctantly agreed. 

It seemed to Daryl however that he was affected a whole lot more by cooling off the relationship than Carol was. He missed her terribly; they hadn't even kissed in over a month; and being intimate? Daryl hadnt pressured her about it since starting their relationship due to everything that had happened with her and Ed, and now, he just didnt think it was ever gonna happen. It didn't help that Carol was a mom now, and every waking moment she had free to be away from the band, she flew home to spend it bonding with her precious, baby girl Sophia, now 8 months old.

Daryl tried to understand and be patient, and swore he'd give Carol all the time she needed, but deep down he missed her terribly and although he never revealed it to her, he wanted and needed her like a man is supposed to want and need his woman. He'd never admit it but deep down he dreaded ending the tour; it meant Carol would return home and he wouldn't get to see and spend nearly as much time with her every day as he had on their tour. He wasnt jealous of Sophia of course, he'd grown to care deeply for the precious little girl and had showered her with gifts when he got his first major paycheck from the record label: he just hoped her mama wouldnt forget about him in the long run since they technically weren't supposed to date anymore.  
\--------  
Daryl bought a couple of candy bars and a bag of chips from the snack machine before heading back up to his room on the elevator. When he got there however, he realized with horror that in his haste he'd forgotten his room key and the door locked itself upon closing from the inside! He certainly couldn't wake Morgan up to let him in, he couldnt ask for a spare key at the front desk because the room wasnt in his name, he couldnt call the guys at the Bowery Bar because he didnt know the number and even if he did he didnt have anymore change for the pay phone (surprise, surprise no cell phones in 1985!) and he couldnt walk up the beach strip in his underwear to go find the guys inside the bar (well he could've but he was also barefoot and he just didnt want to look like a complete hick...) so there were only 2 other options. Either go back downstairs and wait in the lobby until T-Dog and the guys returned in a few hours or... go to Carol's room and wait until the morning. 

Of course he decided on the latter; he REALLY didn't want to disturb her; she'd looked beyond exhausted at dinner earlier, but he had to try. Her room was a much more appealing option than the motel's lobby... 

He walked down the hall and knocked lightly on her door and got no reply. He knocked a bit harder the second time. "Carol, you up? It's me," he called out. 'Please be up,' he thought to himself. Thankfully he heard shuffling around inside a few seconds later.

"Daryl?" she asked, just above a whisper.

"Yeah... its me. I locked myself out of my room by accident. The guys all left so I can't wake Morgan... and they wont give me a spare key down at the desk, so ummm.... can I crash in your room for the night?" 'Please say yes,' he thought to himself. 

"Ummm... okay," she replied.

When she opened the door to let him in Daryl greeted her with the biggest smile of thanks ever but his smile immediately faded when he saw that her eyes were swollen and red and that her beautiful face was streaked with tears. It was obvious that she was very upset and had been crying all night. He immediately closed the door behind himself and pulled her into his strong arms. "Carol! What's the matter, Sweetheart?"


	14. Southern Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl reassures Carol that nothing has changed...

Carol laid her head on Daryl's chest and began softly sobbing all over again. 

"Carol, please stop cryin'. Tell me what's the matter so I can help ya."

"There's nothin' you can do to help, Daryl... I'm afraid the damage is done," she sniffed. 

"Can't be that bad Honey... come on, tell me what's bothering ya." He cared for her so much that it made his heart ache to see her cry.

She sighed. "Well... Sophia's just getting over an ear infection and she's still so cranky and wouldnt stop crying earlier so my mom called me here just to let her hear my voice over the phone to try to get her to calm her down a little but it backfired! She started crying even harder after she heard me and she got so upset my mom had to end the call! My baby was crying for me and there was nothing I could do about it because I'm all the way here in Myrtle Beach instead of being at home to help her get to sleep while she's sick. I'm an awful mother!" she whimpered before bursting into fresh tears.

Daryl hugged her tighter. "Awww Sweetheart... you're not an awful mother," he soothed, gently caressing her back. You're the best mom in the world! Sophia is in good hands; you left her with your own mother, and you're here in Myrtle Beach for her. Every place you've travelled to in the past couple of months has been for her future. The first thing you did with your signing bonus was set up a trust fund for her as well as set her college tuition aside in a savings account. You paid off your folks' mortgage so your mom could stop working to take care of Soph while we're touring, and you flew back home to Atlanta to see her everytime we had more than a few days off at a time from performing during the tour. You already said you're gonna use your share of the tour money to put a downpayment on a house with a big backyard and a pool for her and you're already making plans for her Minnie Mouse themed first birthday party complete with clowns, a magician and a pony. She won't ever want for anything because of your sacrifices now. And she's only 8 months old! She's so young she probably won't even remember that you were ever gone! As soon as you get home tomorrow she's gonna light up with happiness!"

"I dont know if that's true Daryl. Ed's taking a human development psychology course in college right now and he said the baby is at a critical stage; she's beginning to discern who she can and can't trust and since I keep leaving her for weeks at a time she might not trust me anymore! Coming on this tour may have broken the bond I've built between us. I only breastfed her for six months, and according to my mom she'll take a bottle from anybody nowadays, even Ed when he visits. And speaking of Ed he had the nerve to call me here earlier also. He said that I know damn well that since he now knows for certain that Sophia is his that he'll make sure she'll never want for anything so I did not have to come on this tour. He said his mother said I'm foolish and selfish to wanna be a rock star of all things, especially at a critical time like this and that a cat's a better mother than I am because whenever she sees any of our TV interviews I never even mention that I even have a daughter at all. He then added that I ought to be ashamed of myself for leaving her like this... and I am ashamed. She's just a baby and I left her for nearly two whole months! So it's true... I'm a horrible mother!"

Daryl was immediately filled with rage but he contained the litany of curses on the tip of his tongue because he didnt want to upset Carol any further. He REALLY wanted to strangle Ed with his bare hands however for making Carol feeling guilty about pursuing her dream of becoming a singer and for making her question her ability as a mother. Carol absolutely ADORED Sophia and had cried so many nights from worrying over her and longing to hold her when she wasnt able to slip away home for a day or two. Ed was a hypocrite of epic proportions who hadn't even wanted baby Sophia initially but now all of a sudden he wanted to play the doting and devoted father. His parents did the bulk of the hands on care Sophia required on the rare occasions she stayed with Ed for the weekend; all he did was buy her a bunch of toys instead of actually spending much time helping to raise her due to his own busy school schedule and instead of supporting Carol in raising their child he only criticized everything she did.

Daryl just held Carol tight and did his best to comfort her and reassure her that she was a good mother and that Little Sophia would be just fine, as well as remind her that Ed was an incorrigible ASSHOLE. He then suggested that they go out on the balcony so that she could get some air because it might help her feel better and she agreed. Once out on the balcony they sat down and Daryl immediately slipped his arm around her protectively and they just sat there awhile just listening to the calming sounds of the ocean. 

Carol thought that Daryl's big, strong arm felt amazing around her and as he whispered reassurances that everything would be okay in her ear his soothing voice calmed her down in no time flat. He always had that effect on her and she'd missed the closeness they'd begun to share when their relationship first started blossoming.

She'd finally found a little happiness with Daryl after so much pain and dissapointment stemming from the break up with Ed. Over time she grew stronger with his help and besides stressing from missing her baby terribly to everything else going on in the whirlwind her life had transformed into recently, she was ecstatic about her new success and besides having to travel so often lately there was only one other aspect about her new life that was bittersweet. That had been taking a step back from her relationship with Daryl. The label's demands that they stop seeing each other romantically couldn't have happened at a worse time in her opinion; she was finally well over the fiasco with Ed and had recuperated from giving birth and so she was really beginning to look forward to finally taking things further physically with Daryl. She'd fallen deep in love with him and was so attracted to him that the longer the time went on she wanted him more and more! Of course he'd never pressured her about sex early on in their relationship because she was still pregnant by Ed at the time; and then right after she had Sophia they were so busy finishing up the album that there was no time for anything else and then right after that they got their record deal and the rest was history so it never happened. And deep down now she was scared it never would... Daryl had left her alone like he'd been told and she wondered if he still felt the way he once had about her; despite giving in to the record label execs, she still desperately wanted him romantically and dreamt frequently of finally being intimate with the man she loved.

Daryl felt the same way; just sitting so close to Carol after months of holding his feelings for her inside was turning him on something awful. He knew he was only supposed to be comforting her right now but his raging hormones had other ideas. He desperately wanted to kiss her but he knew he shouldnt; she was vulnerable... and besides, it was against the rules.

At the moment however, they both realized that no one from the record label could see them. And at that moment, no one knew anything about the intimate, romantic setting they'd put themselves in... cuddled up close on a cozy, oceanfront balcony, with the moon and stars above and the crashing waves below, and all it took was one heated glance between them for them both to realize the inevitable. They both still loved and desired each other!

Right then and there Daryl broke down and confessed to Carol that he was still deeply in love with her despite pretending otherwise to please their label execs, and Carol immediately confessed the same. Before they knew what was happening they were engaged in a series of tender, smoldering kisses and caresses that held the promise that their long pent up attraction to one another was finally about to explode in a long overdue night of unbridled passion...


	15. Consumed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl takes his relationship with Carol to the next level in the only way he knows how... Warning: ADULTS ONLY content ahead!

Once Daryl started kissing Carol he couldn't stop. He moaned as his tongue swirled around hers in a sensual dance. Then at some point he slid his big hands under her thin pink tank top to caress her breasts for the first time, and he groaned as he felt her swollen nipples stiffening under his touch. He couldn't help noticing over the past few months that her breasts had gotten a lot fuller since her pregnancy and he couldnt resist finally squeezing and massaging them gently. He'd been longing to kiss her and touch her like this for so long that he could immediately feel his manhood throbbing with need.

"Oh Daryl..." Caryl gasped between kisses. His strong yet gentle hands felt so good on her neglected body! It had been so long since she'd been touched in this way! Her breasts were very sensitive since having the baby and now that Daryl was finally touching them the sensation was driving her crazy. "Please... don't stop!"

"I won't," he groaned, tearing himself from her lips momentarily to kiss a heated trail down to her neck. He licked and nipped at her throat then slowly slid his tongue along her cleavage before pushing the offensive tank top up over her breasts and out of his way. He groaned with need as he began kissing all over them. "Want you so bad Carol!"

She could feel her core flooding with need for him. "Mmm... I want you too... lets go inside," she whispered, running her fingers through his hair while he greedily sucked first one nipple between his lips and then the other. 

Daryl didnt hesitate scooping her up in his strong arms to carry her inside and once back in the dim, candlelit room, Daryl tugged Carol's tank over her head and tossed it to the floor; it was only in his way. 

Carol wanted to touch him too and she urged him to ditch his own t-shirt as well. He complied and then they stretched out across the queen sized bed, kissing more passionately than ever as Carol ran her long nails up and down his back. "Make love to me," she whispered. She desperately needed to feel him inside her.

"I will... but... I wanna taste ya first," he whispered, sliding down the bed and kissing a trail down her concave belly before sliding his tongue inside her navel. "Can I?" he murmured before then kissing a trail down her inner thigh while slowly tugging her pajama shorts and her pink bikini panties down her toned, recently tanned legs and off.

Carol hesitated. Ed had been the selfish type who only loved to receive, so he'd never afforded Carol that particular pleasure during their brief, ill fated 'relationship.' Daryl on the other hand only longed to give her pleasure. So even though she felt a little shy, (knowing full well that his going down on her was the most intimate thing he could possibly do beyond having sex itself,) she laid back and shook her head yes. 

Daryl's ice blue eyes locked with hers and he gave her a teasing wink just before he buried his head between her legs. She'd taken a bubblebath not long before he'd come to her room and he groaned as he inhaled her fresh, yet aroused scent and he felt like he was getting high. He hadn't even tasted her yet and he was already addicted to her. He knew right then and there that he'd never want another woman for the rest of his life.

Daryl hadn't had much experience with women in the past but he'd heard enough of his brother's rants and had watched enough of the guy's porn lying around to know what to do when he got the opportunity and since he was so turned on and so crazy about Carol it all came naturally. 

Carol gasped from the shocking sensation as he began pressing feather soft kisses all over her mound. Each kiss slowly grew more and more insistant as he grew more and more confident, and she nearly jumped out of the bed when the tip of his long tongue discovered her swollen bundle of nerves. He knew right away that he'd found the spot Merle always bragged about being able to find easily on a woman and he lavished it with soft kitten licks from side to side awhile before gently sucking it between his lips. Before long Carol was whimpering his name over and over, tugging hard on his hair and begging for more as she thrashed all over the bed. She couldnt hold back her loud cries of pleasure as he then dipped his tongue inside and she eagerly opened herself up to him. 

Daryl pulled her thighs over his strong shoulders then dove back in for more, moaning as he plunged his tongue in and out. He couldnt get enough and he refused to stop until she got off.

After she finally climaxed, he still wouldn't stop kissing and licking her most sensitive spot and Carol literally had to push him away for a moment just to catch her breath.

"Daryl please!" she giggled breathlessly.

"Cant help it," he grunted. He was about to explode. "Carol please... I need you... now," he begged, climbing on top of her after waiting as long as he could for her to recuperate from her intense, breathtaking orgasm.

Their eyes locked and she knew he was the one for her forever. They were still young, both only going on 20 at that point, but Daryl was it for her. She nodded her head yes yet again and they kissed passionately once more and Daryl growled as they finally became one. The pleasure was so intense that they were both overcome with emotion and they proceeded to make love deep into the night. The sound of the ocean waves crashing outside set the tempo of their lovemaking and they finally collapsed in the wee hours of morning, sated and deeper in love than ever just before the sun came up...


	16. Wake Up Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise telphone call can change everthing!

The first loud, shrill ring of the telephone immediately woke the lovebirds out of their contented sleep.

Daryl flinched at the sound. "What time is it, Sweetheart?" he grunted groggily, before snuggling even closer to Carol than he previously was, then pressed his face against her neck to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight shining through the sheer white balcony curtains.

Carol leaned over to peek at the bedside alarm clock. "Almost seven-thirty," she yawned with a lazy stretch. She felt AMAZING after her long night of lovemaking with a certain Mr. Dixon. Her body felt more relaxed than it had in months. It felt so good to wake up in Daryl's strong arms that she didn't want to ever get up. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Maybe whoever it is will give up."

Just then the phone rang again.

"No chance of that happening Sweetheart," Daryl groaned. "Id bet my last twenty that's Morgan. We're supposed to leave in half an hour and we haven't even showered. He's gonna kill us!"

"Daryl we're over 18... it's not like he can ground us, Babe. Besides... we pay his salary, remember?" she then added with a laugh.

"Ya better take that call before he marches his ass down here and starts beating on the door. Then again what what difference does it make? We're already busted."

Carol smirked at him as she grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Good morning Carol, it's Morgan."

"Morgan! What a surprise!" she replied cheerfully, playfully pinching Daryl's butt through the sheet. Daryl just groaned again and covered his head with his pillow. "What's up?"

"Certainly not me... I overslept," he replied with a laugh. "My body must've needed the rest. I had my watch alarm set for 6 and here it is 7:30. Slept right through it! I knew I should've asked for a courtesy wake up call down at the front desk. And after all that talk last evening about getting on the road early! Well anyway, I was calling to let you know that we'll be leaving a little later than scheduled. Its all my fault and I apologize. I know you want to get back to Atlanta as soon as possible to see Little Sophia. I bet you were up bright and early, and are already dressed and ready to go, huh?"

She glanced down at her still nude form barely covered by the sheet. "Just about," she fibbed with a smirk. "But its okay."

"Great. So I'll see you in a bit. Unfortunately I don't hear a peep out of the fellas next door so I'm gonna head over there in a few minutes to make sure they're all up. Just gotta make a couple of quick calls then Ill be on them like white on rice so we can get on the road. Gonna shoot for nine instead of eight, alright? I'll send Oscar or Bob down to grab your heavier bags, once the instruments and all of the other equipment is packed up, okay?"

"Sounds great! See you soon," she sang cheerfully before hanging up.

"What did he say?" Daryl asked in surprise, genuinely shocked that Morgan hadnt been shouting threats at them to haul their asses out of the bed over the phone.

"He overslept so we're leaving at 9 instead of 8... and if you hustle that cute little ass of yours," she giggled before playfully smacking his perfect rear end hidden under the sheet, "we just might get out of this scandalous predicament we've gotten ourselves into unscathed!"

"What do you mean?"

"Morgan literally just woke up a couple of minutes ago! He told me that he hasn't even gone to check to see if you and the guys are up yet and that still he has a few other calls to make! So if you make a run for it right now, he'll never even know you were gone all last night."

Daryl nodded and jumped into his shorts and t-shirt fast as lightening and after a quick kiss he pulled her in close. "Last night was..."

"Hot? Incredible? Amazing?" she teased.

"All of the above... but I was gonna say... just the beginning," he then added with a wink and after stealing another kiss he darted down the hallway.

He was just about to lightly knock on his door so one of the fellows would let him when the elevator doors at the end of the hallway sprung open and T-Dog, Tobin, Ezekiel, Morales, Oscar and Bob all stumbled out if it! Daryl's jaw dropped in disbelief! They were all just dragging their asses home late themselves! He gestured for them to hurry and they made it inside the suite and crashed onto their respective beds and the 2 pull out couches with less than a moment to spare before Morgan came waltzing through the adjoining door between their suites.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauties! It's time to hit the showers... we're late!" he sang cheerfully, before flipping on the lights.

All of the guys except for Daryl had slight hangovers and they groaned in unison. Daryl however couldn't wipe the smile off of his face!


	17. Inquiring Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> T-Dog wants answers... and Daryl's got them!

After they'd been on the road for a little over an hour, Morgan let everyone know that there was a sign advertising a rest stop area at an upcoming exit. He took a vote and the overall consensus was to stop for breakfast at the Waffle Queen Diner and to get their food to go. 

Once their orders were taken, everyone sat in the lobby waiting area and after a few minutes Daryl excused himself for a quick smoke break outside. 

"Dixon, wait up," T-Dog replied jumping up to follow him. 

"What is this... a field trip?" Daryl chuckled while holding the door open for his best friend.

"No fool," T-Dog laughed. "I just want to ask you something." He'd noticed that Daryl sat next to Carol on the bus, and that aside from whispering to each other nearly non-stop during the entire ride they couldnt seem to keep their hands off one another. Then since they'd arrived at the diner, the flirtatious pair kept glancing at one another other with lust filled stares like they wanted to rip each other's clothes off. No one else dared to say anything but T-Dog was dying to know what was going on between them.

"What's up?" Daryl asked after lighting up and blowing out a few smoke rings.

"Well... I never got a chance to ask you earlier... just what the hell happened last night!? We went out partying and you stayed back at the hotel but we all got in at the same damn time! How did you end up locked out of the room and where did you end up all night? You crashed in Carol's room didn't you?" 

"What makes you think Carol and I slept together last night?" Daryl asked with a smirk on his face.

"Ummm... you said it I didnt! And the way you two keep staring at each other like you wanna tear each apart... in a good way, leaves little to the imagination," he then added with a knowing smirk.

"Theodore even if we did get it on last night I'd be the last one to admit it. A gentleman never kisses and tells," Daryl replied with a smirk.

"You sir are no gentleman!" T-Dog howled with laughter, quoting the infamous line from Gone With The Wind.

"No sir, I'm not..." Daryl chuckled. "So you can use your imagination about what FINALLY happened last night."

"I knew it! I just knew it! Dixon you dirty dog!" he laughed. "Well I'm glad you FINALLY got laid and Im happy you two are back together. This is the happiest I've seen you both in weeks. Its obvious that you & Carol belong together, man. But what about the A&R execs back home at the record label? They made such a big fuss about you two dating, they're probably gonna flip when they find out you're back together." 

"The label can kiss my ass. Carol and I are adults and we've decided that we're gonna be together whether they like it or not. They can't stop us. Damn near every song I write is about how I feel about that girl. Ive made them millions of dollars already and countless more to come, so unless they wanna stop the money train they better stop meddling in my personal life."

Just then Ezekiel stuck his head out of the diner's lobby door. "Hey guys, our food's up."

As they headed inside, Daryl had a question of his own. "T, you never did tell me where you all ended up last night. The bar closed at 2. You clowns didnt come dragging your asses back to the hotel until 7:30!"

"Well... we met some REALLY hot chicks at the bar who were renting a beach house a couple of the blocks over from our hotel. We went home with them and had a few more drinks and did a little dancing and then... well lets just say that at the end of the night a couple of us ended up getting just as lucky as you did," he giggled with a wink.

Daryl nodded with a laugh and gave his friend 'five', but once they went back inside and his eyes locked with Carol's he knew that no one on the planet got as lucky as he did last night...


	18. The After Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl surprises everyone at the platinum party...

The band arrived back at the record label's headquarters a few hours later and were all surprised to be greeted by a huge welcome home party. The paparazzi was there snapping photos and there was catered food and a big champagne toast led by the label's top executive staff because the Cherokee Rose album had officially reached platinum status that very morning and sales were still growing steadily by leaps and bounds.

The big southern states summer tour had also been an overwhelming success, with tickets selling out at every venue, and now calls were pouring in from all over the country requesting for the band to come and perform. Daryl and company were all well on their way to becoming mega celebrities and even Morgan and the 'roadies' Oscar and Bob got hefty surprise bonus checks. The band members each received platinum award plaques to take home as well as their anticipated tour paychecks and Daryl pocketed an additional six figure royalty check as well for the singles he'd penned that were burning up the charts. A huge international tour was currently in the plans for that following year as well as negotiations for starting on a sophomore album. Carol also had a modeling offer from a major fashion label that wanted her to wear their jeans in a few upcoming magazine print ads, and there were a few cosmetic ad campaigns on the table for her as well. 

The party went on for another couple of hours but by then everyone was ready to finally go home to their families. Just as the celebration was finally coming to an end however, Daryl stood up shyly to make a final toast. Everyone got a refill of champagne and raised their glasses in anticipation of whatever he was going to say.

He nervously cleared his throat. "Well... ya'll all know me by now... I don't usually say too much but ummm... I just wanted to say thanks to our manager Morgan for taking a chance on us... the best is yet to come... and I gotta say thanks to the label execs for giving Cherokee Rose a chance too." The crowd went wild and were about to gulp down their drinks but he motioned to them that he wasn't quite done. "One more thing. Well.. I'm uhhh.. just a country boy from a trailer park in Senoia, who happened to pick up a guitar by accident when I wasn't much more that a little kid. Starting this band was kind of an accident too at first... but its turned out to be the best mistake I ever made in my life, and the success we've found is the biggest blessing of my life. I wrote the songs and arranged some of the music but I couldn't have done it without any if you. Especially without our first lady, the one and only Miss Carol Ford. Ummm... Carol, could ya come up here a second?" Everyone clapped and whistled as Carol shyly made her way through the crowd, then Daryl took her hand in his. "Carol you're the heart and soul of the Cherokee Rose sound and I'm so grateful you agreed to join us. We wouldn't have the success we have if it weren't for that sweet, beautiful voice of yours. You make us all proud... and I'm not ashamed to say it front of everybody right here and now... I love you with all my heart... and I want you to be my wife."

A collective hushed gasp of surprise fell over the room as Daryl then dropped to one knee before her and gazed into her eyes. "Carol... you mean the world to me and it would make me the happiest man on earth if you'd agree to be my wife." He then produced a tiny box from his back pocket that contained a diamond engagement ring. "Will you marry me?"


	19. Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol accepts Daryl's proposal...

Carol's eyes filled with happy tears; she was overwhelmed with emotion. "Daryl, I love you too... yes, I'll be your wife."

The crowd went crazy, even the label executives surprisingly; at that point they were so happy about all of the money that they were making from Cherokee Rose that they wanted to keep the band members happy. Daryl released the breath he'd been nervously holding as he placed Carol's engagement ring on her finger. He then rose from his kneeling position and pulled her into his arms for a sweet kiss. Carol was finally going to be his to protect, cherish and love and he never wanted to let her go. "Love ya so much Sweetheart.... gonna take good care of you and Sophia the rest of my life. I promise Carol," he whispered.

"Daryl I know... and I dont think I want a terribly long engagement... I'd like us to get married right away," Carol admitted.

Daryl shook his head and glanced at his watch. "Its only 4:35, if we leave right now we could swing past the courthouse on the way to your parent's house... they dont close until 5," he added between kisses.

Carol just laughed and kissed him again. "I was thinking more like a couple of months instead of a whole year or two. Christmastime, maybe? And I'd love to have the ceremony at my family's church and have a big reception someplace and then go away somewhere really special for our honeymoon... Acapulco... or Jamaica or maybe Hawaii?"

"Whatever you want, Sweetheart. Weve got our whole lives ahead of us. Just tell me the time and place and I'll be there." 

"Oh and Daryl I know we'll move into your apartment initially but we've gotta think about buying a house once Sophia starts getting bigger..."

"Of course. The biggest and best house money can buy... and a puppy... and when she gets big enough, maybe a pony too," he then added with a wink and all Carol could do was hug and kiss him again.

A little while later, after many congratulatory well wishes from everyone, the crowd finally dispersed. The band members had a couple of weeks off to relax before their upcoming TV appearances and other contracted performance engagements resumed so they were all happy to finally head home after months of being cooped up on the tour bus on the road. 

Daryl had left his truck parked on the record company's back lot prior to the beginning of the tour and after loading up his and Carol's suitcases they headed to her parent's house.

Carol's parents had prepared a welcome home dinner and Abraham and Sasha had stopped by too. Abraham was holding his little niece Sophia when the lovebirds arrived and all of Carol's fears subsided the moment she walked into the front door as Sophia squealed with happiness and tried to jump into her arms from her Uncle Abe's the moment she laid eyes on her. Everyone was ecstatic about the platinum album news and then they were all over the moon at Carol and Daryl's surprise engagement announcement. 

"Weve got a wedding to plan!" Mrs. Ford exclaimed. "Daryl, please call me Mom from now on!" she then added happily.

"Mr. Ford, sir... can I use the phone?" Daryl then asked Carol's father who'd momentarily disappeared into the kitchen. He wanted to let Merle know the good news too. 

"Sure son... and uh... feel free to call me Dad," Abraham Ford Sr. then added with a smile, before shaking Daryl's hand. "Daryl you're a good young man and I trust you're gonna take good care of my girls. Can't ask for more than that."

"Thanks... Dad," Daryl replied. "I promise I will."  
He then called Merle's house and his brother's newly pregnant wife Karen answered the phone. Not long after getting married a few months back Karen found out she was pregnant and she and Merle moved out of the old trailer into a spacious mid-century ranch home in a nice suburb nearby.

Daryl told his sister-in-law the happy news and she in turn happily called Merle to the phone from his painting project in the soon to be nursery. 

"Hey there Darlina! Good to hear your voice! You back in town from the tour?" he asked.

"Yeah... we all just got back today. The albums gone platinum... and... Carol and I are getting hitched!" 

As expected Merle was ecstatic. "Well congratulations, Darlina!" Merle shouted. "This calls for a toast!! A celebration is in order! Where the hell are ya?"

"At Carol's parent's house."

"We're on our way!" he exclaimed as he abruptly hung up. 

"Merle... wait a second... ya there?" Daryl laughed. "Hello? Hello?" he repeated as the phone went dead.

Ten minutes later Merle and Karen arrived at the Ford's home.

"Welcome to the family, Mouse!" Merle roared happily as he ran in, picking Carol up with Sophia in her arms and spinning them both around and everyone laughed. He then greeted everyone else and they all laughed again as Sophia extended her arms to get picked up and spun around again by her future 'Uncle Merle.'

"Im awful happy for ya, Brother," Merle exclaimed before pulling Daryl in for a big bear hug. "And awful proud," he then added.

"I know, Merle," Daryl replied with a smile. "I know."

-Finis


End file.
